SOVIET    AT.S.SY  /    PAMPHLETS. 

The  Labor  Laws  of 
Soviet  Ru* 


With  d  Supplement,  THE  PROTEC 
R    :•   i  ,     b)     S,     Kaplun.    of    the 


Mev     —    - 

The  Russi;  n  el  Government   Br 

1920 


SOVIET  RUSSIA  PAMPHLETS 

A   series   of  important   documents   from   authentic 
sources. 

1.  LABOR  LAWS  OF  SOVIET  RUSSIA.     Third  Edition 
revised  and  enlarged.     Containing  all  the  matter 
included  in  the  first  and  second  editions,  together 
with  a  supplement  on  The  Protection  of  Labor 
in   Soviet   Russia,   by   S.   Kaplun,   of   the   Com- 
missariat   of    Labor.      About    90    pages,    price 
25  cents. 

2.  MARRIAGE    LAWS   OF   SOVIET    RUSSIA;    with    the 
Laws   on   Domestic   Relations.     New   translation 
from  recently  received  Russian  original     About 
60  pages,  price  15  cents. 

3.  Two  YEARS  OF  SOVIET  RUSSIAN  FOREIGN  POLICY, 
by  George  Chicherin.    A  full  account  of  all  the 
diplomatic    negotiations    between    Soviet    Russia 
and  foreign  powers,  from  November  7,   1917,  to 
November  7,  1919.     Out  of  print. 

Bound  in  heavy  paper  covers. 
SPECIAL  RATES  IN  QUANTITIES 

Address : 

"SOVIET  RUSSIA" 

110  W.  40th  St.         Room  304         New  York,  N.  Y. 


The  Labor  Laws  of 
Soviet  Russia 


WJTH  AN  ANSWER  TO  A  CRITICISM  BY 
MR.  WILLIAM  C.  REDFIELD 


THIRD  EDITION,  REVISED  AND  ENLARGED 

Containing  a  Supplement,  "The  Protection  of 

Labor  in  Soviet  Russia,"   by  S.   Kaplun, 

of  the  Commissariat  of  Labor 


i  $.8 


New  York 

The  Russian  Soviet  Government   Bureau 
110  West  40th  Street 

1920 


)*w.\, 

'      0 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

PACE 

THE  BASIC  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  LABOR  LAWS  or  SOVIET 
RUSSIA  (Summary  by  the  Russian  Soviet  Govern- 
ment Bureau  in  the  United  States 5 

LABOR  LAWS  OF  SOVIET  RUSSIA 11 

ARTICLE  I.    ON  COMPULSORY  LABOR 15 

ARTICLE  II.    THE  RIGHT  TO  WORK 17 

ARTICLE  III.    METHODS  OF  LABOR  DISTRIBUTION  ...  18 

ARTICLE  IV.    PROBATION  PERIOD 20 

ARTICLE  V.    TRANSFER  AND  DISCHARGE  OF  WORKERS    .  21 

ARTICLE  VI.    REMUNERATION  OF  LABOR .24 

ARTICLE  VII.    WORKING  HOURS 27 

ARTICLE  VIII.     METHODS  TO   SECURE  EFFICIENCY  OF 

LABOR 31 

ARTICLE  IX.    PROTECTION  OF  LABOR '  .  34 

APPENDIX  TO  SECTION  5 37 

APPENDIX  TO  SECTION  78 40 

APPENDIX  TO  SECTION  79 42 

APPENDIX  TO  SECTION  80    . 45 

CRITICISM  BY  MR.  REDFIELD 47 

OUR  ANSWER  TO  MR.  REDFIELD 49 

THE  PROTECTION  OF  LABOR  IN  SOVIET  RUSSIA,  by  S. 
Kaplun,  of  the  Commissariat  of  Labor. 
I.    PROTECTION  OF  LABOR  BEFORE  THE  ESTABLISH- 
MENT OF  THE  SOVIET  GOVERNMENT    ...  61 
II.    THE  SOVIET  GOVERNMENT  AND  PROTECTION  OF 

LABOR 65 

III.  WORKING   HOURS 66 

IV.  PROTECTION  OF  FEMALE  LABOR 68 

V.    CHILD  LABOR .  70 

VI.    SANITARY  AND  TECHNICAL  PROTECTION  OF  LABOR  72 

VII.    OTHER  QUESTIONS  OF  PROTECTION  OF  LABOR    .  74 

VIII.    INSPECTION  OF  LABOR 77 

IX.    INSPECTION  OF  LABOR  AT  LARGE 82 

X.    STAFF  FOR  INSPECTION  OF  LABOR 84 

XI.    SPECIAL  INSPECTIONS 88 

XII.    CONCLUSIONS .90 


881685 


THE    BASIC    PRINCIPLES    OF    THE    LABOR 
LAWS   OF   SOVIET   RUSSIA 

(Summary    by    the    Russian    Soviet    Government 
Bureau   in  the   United    States) 

^TIHE  fundamental  principle  underlying  the  labor 
-•-  laws  of  Soviet  Russia  is  that  society  owes 
everybody  a  living.  The  community  is  like  one 
family,  every  member  of  which  is  supported  out 
of  the  family  income.  The  labor  law  speaks  of 
"citizens."  In  practice,  however,  there  is  no  dif- 
ference between  citizens  and  aliens  because  any 
person  may  become  a  citizen  by  a  mere  declaration 
of  intention  to  become  one. 

It  goes  without  saying  that  since  everyone  is 
entitled  to  a  seat  at  the  community  table,  every 
able-bodied  person  is  required  to  contribute  his  or 
her  share  towards  the  work  which  is  necessary  to 
provide  the  community  with  the  means  for  the  sup- 
port of  its  members.  This  is  described  as  "com- 
pulsory labor." 

The  obligation  to  work  for  the  community  begins 
with  the  age  of  sixteen  and  terminates  at  the  age 
of  fifty.  Old  persons  are  supported  by  the  com- 
munity; likewise  all  persons  who  are  permanently 
or  temporarily  incapacitated  for  work.  This  in- 
cludes women  for  a  period  of  eight  weeks  before 
and  eight  weeks  after  confinement.  School  children 
are  required  to  take  manual  training  at  school. 


The  community  undertakes  to  provide  every  per- 
son'with  work.  If -no  work  can  be  found  for  any 
able-bodied  person,  he  or  she  is  entitled  to  a  full 
wage  or  salary  for  the  whole  time  of  his  or  her 
involuntary  idleness. 

As  far  as  practicable,  every  worker  must  be  as- 
signed to  work  at  his  trade  or  profession,  if  he  has 
any,  and  at  his  usual  place  of  residence.  If  there 
is  no  opening  in  a  person's  chosen  field  of  work, 
he  may  be  assigned  to  and  must  accept  another  class 
of  work.  If,  however,  the  work  is  of  a  lower  grade, 
the  worker  is  nevertheless  entitled  to  his  regular 
compensation  which  he  would  receive  if  employed 
at  his  own  trade  or  profession.  If  no  employment 
can  be  found  for  a  worker  within  the  district  where 
he  resides,  he  may  be  assigned  to  work  in  another 
district. 

Night  work  is  prohibited  for  all  persons  under 
the  age  of  eighteen,  and  for  women  of  all  ages. 
The  same  classes  are  excluded  from  all  kinds  of 
employment  which  are  considered  "especially  hard 
or  dangerous." 

In  nationalized  industries  the  terms  of  employ- 
ment are  regulated  by  rules  framed  by  the  labor 
organizations,  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  Peo- 
ple's Commissariat  of  Labor,  which  corresponds  to 
the  Department  of  Labor  of  the  United  States.  In 
establishments  operated  by  private  capital  the  terms 
of  employment  are  regulated  by  rules  agreed  upon 
between  the  owners  or  directors  of  the  establish- 
ments and  the  labor  unions,  likewise  subject  to 
approval  by  the  People's  Commissariat  of  Labor. 
If  no  agreement  can  be  reached  between  capital  and 
labor  the  terms  of  employment  are  drawn  up  by 
the  trade  unions  and  submitted  for  approval  to 


the  People's  Commissariat  of  Labor.  This  provi- 
sion of  the  Soviet  labor  laws  is  theoretically  tanta- 
mount to  compulsory  arbitration.  It  must  be  borne 
in  mind,  however,  that  the  People's  Commissariat 
of  Labor  is  a  Soviet  institution,  in  the  election  of 
which  labor  has  a  dominating  vote. 

A  normal  working  day  must  not  exceed  eight 
hours  for  day  work  and  seven  hours  for  night 
work.  The  normal  working  day  for  persons  under 
eighteen  years  of  age  must  not  exceed  six  hours. 
In  especially  hard  and  dangerous  occupations  the 
normal  day  must  likewise  not  exceed  six  hours. 
If  the  character  of  the  work  is  such  that  it  cannot 
be  dropped  at  the  end  of  a  normal  working  day, 
two  or  more  labor  shifts  must  be  engaged.  Over- 
time is  permitted  only  in  emergencies.  Where  the 
emergency  would  not  endanger  human  life  or  in- 
volve interruption  in  water  supply,  lighting,  sewer- 
age, or  transportation,  overtime  work  is  permitted 
only  with  the  consent  of  the  labor  unions  whose 
membership  is  affected.  No  persons  under  eighteen 
Years  of  age,  nor  any  women  are  permitted  to  work 
overtime.  In  no  case  may  overtime  exceed  four 
hours  in  the  course  of  two  consecutive  weeks,  nor 
may  overtime  work  be  resorted  to  more  than  on 
fifty  days  during  the  year.  The  guiding  idea  is 
that  whenever  it  may  be  foreseen  that  the  work 
of  any  establishment  cannot  be  completed  with  the 
regular  force  within  a  normal  working  day,  ad- 
ditional shifts  of  workers  must  be  provided  for. 

Every  worker  is  entitled  to  a  vacation  with  pay 
of  two  weeks  in  every  six  months. 

In  order  to  avoid  as  far  as  possible  disputes  be- 
tween individual  wage  earners  and  the  employers 
of  labor  over  the  performance  of  the  term  of  em- 


ployment,  every  worker  is  provided  with  a  "labor 
booklet,"  in  which  must  be  entered  the  terms  of 
his  employment,  the  quantity  of  work  performed, 
the  amount  of  wages  received  by  him,  and  all 
other  particulars  relating  to  his  work  and  payment. 
The  right  to  "hire  and  fire"  is  not  left  to  the 
discretion  of  the  employer.  Before  any  person  is 
permanently  engaged  he  must  undergo  a  probation 
period  of  one  week;  in  nationalized  establishments 
the  probation  period  is  two  weeks  for  unskilled 
labor  and  one  month  for  skilled  labor.  If  any 
employee  is  rejected  after  probation  he  may  ap- 
peal to  his  union.  If  his  union  considers  his  com- 
plaint justified  it  may  enter  into  negotiations  with 
his  employer.  Should  negotiations  fail  the  matter 
may  be  submitted  to  the  local  office  of  the  Com- 
missariat of  Labor,  which  may  order  the  appoint- 
ment of  the  complainant  to  a  permanent  position  or 
may  dismiss  his  complaint.  After  a  person  has  been 
appointed  to  a  permanent  position  he  may  be  dis- 
charged for  unfitness  only  with  the  consent  of  his 
labor  union.  Both  the  employer  and  the  employee 
may  appeal  the  matter  to  the  local  and  the  district 
office  of  the  Commissariat  of  Labor,  respectively. 
The  decision  of  the  district  office  is  final. 

Every  wage  earner  is  required  to  turn  out  the 
standard  output  fixed  for  his  class  and  grade  of 
work  by  the  valuation  committee  of  his  labor  union, 
subject  to  the  approval  of  the  Commissariat  of 
Labor,  representing  the  interests  of  labor,  and  the 
Council  of  National  Economy,  representing  the 
interests  of  national  industry.  A  wage  earner,  who 
falls  below  the  standard  may  be  demoted  by  deci- 
sion of  the  valuation  committee  of  his  union,  but 
he  may  appeal  from  that  decision  to  the  local  and 


the  district  office  of  the  Commissariat  of  Labor. 
The  decision  of  the  district  office  is  final.  In  case 
of  negligence  or  bad  faith  a  wage  earner  may  be 
discharged  without  notice,  subject  to  the  agreement 
of  his  labor  union. 

A  worker  may  be  discharged  in  case  of  a  shut- 
down of  the  establishment  or  of  suspension  of 
work  for  more  than  a  month  or  in  case  of  cancel- 
lation of  special  orders.  The  discharge  of  a 
worker  for  these  reasons  is  likewise  appealable  to 
the  local  and  district  offices  of  the  Commissariat 
of  Labor.  In  every  case  the  worker  is  entitled  to 
two  weeks'  notice  of  the  proposed  discharge. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  worker  is  not  at  liberty  to 
quit  his  job  at  pleasure.  He  must  tender  his  re- 
signation, which  must  be  passed  upon  by  the  shop 
committee.  If  the  shop  committee,  after  a  hearing, 
declines  to  accept  the  resignation,  the  wage  earner 
must  remain  at  work,  but  he  may  appeal  to  his 
trade  union,  whose  decision  is  final.  A  wage  earner 
who  disobeys  these  rules  is  barred  from  other  em- 
ployment for  one  week  and  forfeits  his  unemploy- 
ment benefit  for  that  period.  These  rules  do  not 
apply,  however,  to  personal  service  and  to  tempo- 
rary employment  where  the  worker  is  at  liberty  to 
quit  at  pleasure. 

In  order  to  carry  into  effect  the  principles  which 
have  been  summarized  in  the  preceding  paragraphs, 
suitable  machinery  has  been  provided  by  the  labor 
code.  Every  wage  earner  must  enroll  with  some 
labor  organization,  whereupon  he  is  assigned  by 
the  valuation  committee  of  his  union  to  a  certain 
trade  and  class.  This  is  in  principle  a  continua- 
tion and  extension  of  the  guild  system,  which  ex- 
isted under  the  old  laws  of  the  Russian  Empire. 


A  system  of  labor  inspection  has  been  provided 
for  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  People's  Com- 
missariat of  Labor.  Labor  inspectors  are  elected 
by  the  central  bodies  of  the  trade  unions.  The 
powers  of  the  labor  inspectors  are  very  wide.  They 
may  enter  at  any  time  of  the  day  or  night  every 
industrial  establishment,  as  well  as  the  lodgings 
provided  by  the  employers  for  their  workers.  They 
may  adopt  special  rules  for  the  removal  of  condi- 
tions endangering  the  life  and  health  of  employees. 
They  may  require  the  production  by  the  manage- 
ment of  all  the  books  and  records  of  the  establish- 
ment, and  they  may  prosecute  all  persons  violating 
the  provisions  of  the  labor  code. 


10 


THE  CODE  OF  LABOR  LAWS 
OF  THE  RUSSIAN  SOCIALIST 
FEDERAL  SOVIET  REPUBLIC 


Translated  from  the  official  text  published 
in  Moscow. 


11 


INTRODUCTION 

I.  The  Code  of  Labor  Laws  shall  take  effect 
from  the  moment  of  its  publication  in  the  Compila- 
tion of  Laws  and  Regulations  of  the  Workmen's 
and  Peasants9  Government.    This  Code  must  be  ex- 
tensively circulated  among  the  working  class   of 
the  country  by  all  the  local  organs  of  the  Soviet 
Government  and  be  posted  in  a  conspicuous  place 
in  all  Soviet  Institutions. 

II.  The  regulations  of  the  Code  of  Labor  Laws 
shall  apply  to  all  persons  receiving  remuneration 
for  their  work  and  shall  be  obligatory  for  all  en- 
terprises,  institutions   and  establishments    (Soviet, 
public,  private  and  domestic),  as  well  as  for  all 
private  employers  exploiting  labor. 

III.  All  existing  regulations  of  a  general  char- 
acter and  those  hereafter  to  be  issued  in  relation 
to  labor  (orders  of  individual  establishments,  in- 
structions, rules  of  internal  management,  etc.),  as 
well  as  individual  contracts  and  agreements,  shall 
be  valid  only  in  so  far  as  they  do  not  conflict  with 
this  Code. 

IV.  All    labor    agreements   previously   entered 
into,  as  well  as  all  those  which  will  be  entered 
into  in  the  future,  in  so  far  as  they  contradict  the 
regulations  of  this  Code  shall  not  be  considered 
valid  or  obligatory,  either  for  the  employees  or  for 
the  employers. 

V.  In  enterprises  and  establishments  where  the 
work  is  carried  on  in  the  form  of  organized  co- 

13 


operation  (Section  6,  Division  (a)  of  the  present 
Labor-Code)  the  wage  earners  must  be  allowed 
the  widest  possible  self-government  under  the  super- 
vision of  the  Central  Soviet  authorities.  On  this 
basis  alone  can  the  working  masses  be  successfully 
educated  in  the  spirit  of  socialist  and  communal 
government. 

VI.  The  labor  conditions  in  the  communal  en- 
terprises organized  as  well  as  supported  by  the 
Soviet  institutions  (agricultural  and  other  com- 
munes) are  regulated  by  special  rules  of  the  Ail- 
Russian  Central  Executive  Committee  and  of  the 
Council  of  People's  Commissars,  and  by  instruc- 
tions of  the  People's  Commissariats  of  Agriculture 
and  Labor. 

The  labor  conditions  of  farmers  on  land  as- 
signed them  for  cultivation  are  regulated  by  the 
Code  of  Rural  Laws. 

The  labor  conditions  of  independent  artisans  are 
regulated  by  special  rules  of  the  Commissariat  of 

bor. 


14 


ARTICLE  I 
On  Compulsory  Labor 

1.  All  citizens  of  the  Russian  Socialist  Federal  Soviet 
Republic,  with  the  exception  stated  in  sections  2  and  3, 
shall  be  subject  to  compulsory  labor. 

2.  The  following  persons  shall  be  exempt  from  com- 
pulsory labor: 

(a)  Persons  under  16  years  of  age; 

(b)  All  persons  over  50  years; 

(c)  Persons    who    have    become    incapacitated    by 
injury  or  illness. 

3.  Temporarily  exempt  from  compulsory  labor  are : 

(a)  Persons  who  are  temporarily  incapacitated  ow- 
ing to  illness  or  injury,  for  a  period  necessary  for 
their  recovery; 

(b)  Women,  for  a  period  of  8  weeks  before  and  8 
weeks  after  confinement. 

4.  All  students  shall  be  subject  to   compulsory  labor 
at  the  schools. 

5.  The  fact  of  permanent  or  temporary  disability  shall 
be  certified  after  a  medical  examination  by  the  Bureau  of 
Medical  Survey  in  the  city,  district  or  province,  by  the 
accident  insurance  office  or  its  agencies,  according  to  the 
place  of  residence  of  the  person  whose  disability  is  to  be 
certified. 

Note  I.  Rules  for  the  examination  of  disabled  workmen 
are  appended  hereto  (page  37). 

Note  II.  Persons  subject  to  compulsory  labor  but  not  en- 
gaged in  useful  public  work  may  be  summoned  by  the  local 
Soviets  for  the  execution  of  public  work,  on  conditions 
determined  by  the  local  Departments  of  Labor  in  agree- 
ment with  the  local  Councils  of  trade  unions. 

6.  Labor  may  be  performed  in  the  form  of — 

(a)  Organized  cooperation; 

(b)  Individual  personal  services; 

(c)  Individual  special  jobs. 

7.  Labor  conditions  in  Government   (Soviet)    establish- 

15 


ments  shall  be  regulated  by  scale  rules  approved  by  the 
Central  Soviet  authorities  through  the  People's  Commis- 
sariat of  Labor. 

8.  Labor  conditions  in  all  establishments    (Soviet,  na- 
tionalized, public  and  private)   shall  be  regulated  by  scale 
rules  drafted  by  the  trade  unions,  in  agreement  with  the 
directors  or  owners  of  establishments  and  enterprises,  and 
approved  by  the  People's  Commissariat  of  Labor. 

Note.  In  cases  where  it  is  impossible  to  arrive  at  an 
understanding  with  the  directors  or  owners  of  establish- 
ments or  enterprises,  the  scale  rules  shall  be  drawn  up  by 
the  trade  unions  and  submitted  for  approval  to  the  Peo- 
ple's Commissariat  of  Labor. 

9.  Labor  in  the  form  of  individual  personal  service  or 
in  the  form  of  individual  special  jobs  shall  be  regulated 
by  scale  rules  drafted  by  the  respective  trade  unions  and 
approved  by  the  People's  Commissariat  of  Labor. 


16 


ARTICLE  II 

The  Right  to  Work 

10.  All  citizens  able  to  work  have  the  right  to  employ- 
ment  at   their  vocations   and   for  remuneration   fixed   for 
such  class  of  work. 

Note.  The  District  Exchange  Bureau  of  the  Division 
of  Labor  Distribution  may,  by  agreement  with  the  respec- 
tive labor  bodies,  assign  individual  workers  or  groups  of 
them  to  work  at  other  trades  if  there  is  no  demand  for 
labor  in  the  vocations  of  the  persons  in  question. 

11.  The  right  to  work  belongs  first  of  all  to  those  who 
are  subject  to  compulsory  labor. 

12.  Of  the  classes  exempt  from  compulsory  labor,  only 
those  mentioned  in  subdivision  "b"  of  section  2  shall  have 
the  right  to  work. 

13.  Those   mentioned  in   subdivisions   "a"   and  "c"  of 
section    2    shall    absolutely   have   no   right   to    work,    and 
those   mentioned   in   section   3   shall   temporarily   have  no 
right  to  work. 

14.  All  persons  of  the  female  sex  and  those  of  the  male 
sex  under  18  years  of  age,  shall  have  no  right  to  work 
during  night  time  or  in  those  branches  of  industry  where 
the  conditions  of  labor  are  especially  hard  or  dangerous. 

Note.  A  list  of  especially  hard  and  health-endangering 
occupations  shall  be  prepared  by  the  Division  of  Labor 
Protection  of  the  People's  Commissariat  of  Labor,  and  shall 
be  published  in  the  month  of  January  of  each  year  in  the 
Compilation  of  Laws  and  Regulations  of  the  Workmen's 
and  Peasants9  Government. 


17 


ARTICLE  III 

Methods  of  Labor  Distribution 

15.  The  enforcement  of  the  right  to  work  shall  be  se- 
cured    through     the     Division     of     Labor     Distribution, 
through  trade  unions,  and  through  all  the  institutions  of 
the  Russian  Socialist  Federal  Soviet  Republic. 

16.  The    assignment    of    workers    to    work    shall    be 
effected  through  the  Division  of  Labor  Distribution. 

17.  A    worker   may    be    summoned    to    work,    save    by 
the    Division    of    Labor    Distribution,    only    when    chosen 
for  a  position  by  a  Soviet  institution  or  enterprise. 

18.  Vacancies  may  be  filled  by  election  when  the  work 
offered    requires    political    reliability    or    unusual    special 
knowledge,  for  which  the  person  elected  is  noted. 

19.  Persons  engaged  for  work  by  election  must  register 
with  the  Division  of  Labor  Distribution   before   they   are 
accepted,  but  they  shall  not  be  subject  to  the  rules  con- 
cerning probation  which  are  set  forth  in  Article  IV  of  the 
present  Code. 

20.  Unemployed   persons   shall  be  registered   to   work 
through   the  Division  of  Labor  Distribution   in   the  man- 
ner stated  in  sections  21-30. 

21.  A    worker    who    is    not    engaged    in    work    at   his 
vocation  shall  register  with  the  local  Division  of  Labor 
Distribution  as  unemployed. 

22.  Establishments  and  individuals  in  need  of  workers 
shall   apply   to   the   local   Division   of   Labor   Distribution 
or  its  division   (Correspondence  Bureau)    stating  the  con- 
dition of  the  work  offered  as  well  as  the  requirements  which 
the  workmen  must  meet  (trade,  knowledge,  experience). 

23.  The    Division    of    Labor    Distribution,    on    receipt 
of  the  application  mentioned  in  section  22,  shall  assign 
the  persons  meeting  the  requirements  thereof  in  the  order 
determined  by  the  same. 

24.  An  unemployed  person  has  no  right  to  refuse  an 
offer  to  work  at  his  vocation,  provided  the  working  condi- 
tions   conform    with    standards    fixed    by    the    respective 

18 


scale  regulations,  or  in  the  absence  of  the  same  by  the 
trade  unions. 

25.  A    worker    assigned    to    work    for    a    period    of 
not  more  than  two  weeks,  shall  be  considered  unemployed, 
and  shall  not  lose  his  place  on  the  list  of  the  Division 
of  Labor  Distribution. 

26.  Should    the    local    Division    of    Labor    Distribution 
have  no  workers  on  its  lists  meeting  the  stated  require- 
ments, the  application  shall  be  immediately  sent  to  the 
District  Exchange  Bureau,  and  the  establishment  or  indi- 
vidual   offering    the   employment   shall   be   simultaneously 
notified  to  this  effect. 

27.  Whenever   workers   are   required   for   work  outside 
of  their  district,  a  roll-call  of  the  unemployed  registered 
with  the  Division  of  Labor  Distribution  shall  take  place, 
to  ascertain  who  are  willing  to  go;  if  a  sufficient  number 
of  such  should  not  be  found,  the  Division  of  Labor  Dis- 
tribution shall  assign  the  lacking  number  from  among  tho 
unemployed  in  the  order  of  their  registration,  provided  that 
those   who   have   dependents   must   not   be   thus    assigned 
before  single  persons. 

28.  If   in   the   Division   of   Labor    Distribution,   within 
the  limits  of  the  district,  there  be  no  workmen  meeting 
the  requirements,  the  District  Exchange  Bureau  has  the 
right,  upon  agreement  with  the  respective  trade  union,  to 
send  unemployed  from  another  class  approaching  as  nearly 
as  possible  the  trade  required. 

29.  An  unemployed  person  who  is  offered  work  outside 
his  vocation  shall  be  obliged  to  accept  it,  with  the  under- 
standing, if  he  so  desires,  that  this  be  only  temporary, 
until  he  receives  work  at  his  vocation. 

30.  A    worker    who    is    working    outside    his    vocation, 
and  who  has  expressed  the  desire  that  this  be  only  tempo- 
rary, shall  retain  his  place  on  the  register  of  the  Division 
of  Labor  Distribution  until  he  secures  work  at  his  vocation. 

31.  Private  individuals  violating  the  rules  of  labor  dis- 
tribution set  forth  in  this   article  shall  be  punished,  by 
order  of  the  local  board   of   the   Division   of   Labor  Dis- 
tribution, by  a  fine  of  not  less  than  300  rubles  or  by  arrest 
for  not  less   than   one   week.    Soviet   establishments   and 
officials  violating  these  rules  of  labor  distribution  shall  be 
liable  to  prosecution  for  malfeasance  in  office. 


19 


ARTICLE  IV 
Probation  Period 

32.  Final  acceptance  of  workers  for  permanent  employ- 
ment shall  be  preceded  by  a  period  of  probation  of  not 
more  than  six  days;   in  Soviet  institutions  the  probation 
period  shall  be  two  weeks  for  unskilled  and  less  responsible 
work  and  one  month  for  skilled  and  responsible  work. 

33.  According    to    the    results    of    the    probation    the 
worker  shall  either  be  given  a  permanent  appointment,  or 
rejected  with  payment  for  the  period  of  probation  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  scale  rates. 

34.  The  results  of  the  probation   (acceptance  or  rejec- 
tion)  shall  be  immediately  communicated  to  the  Division 
of  Labor  Distribution. 

35.  Up  to  the  expiration  of  the  probation  period,  the 
worker    shall    be    considered    as    unemployed,    and    shall 
retain  his   place  on   the   eligible  list   of   the   Division  of 
Labor  Distribution. 

36.  A  person  who,  after  probation,  has  been  rejected, 
may  appeal  from  this  decision  to  the  union  of  which  he 
is  a  member. 

37.  If  the  trade  union  deems  the  appeal  mentioned  in 
the  preceding  section  justified,  it  shall  enter  into  negotia- 
tions with  the  establishment  or  person  who  has  rejected  the 
worker,  with  the  request  that  the  complainant  be  accepted. 

38.  In  case  of  failure  of  the  negotiations  mentioned  in 
section  37,  the  matter  shall  be  submitted  to  the  local  De- 
partment of  Labor,  whose  decision  shall  be  final  and  subject 

'to  no  further  appeal. 

39.  The  Department  of   Labor  may   demand  that  the 
person  or  establishment  who  has  without  sufficient  reason 
rejected  a  worker  provide  the  latter  with  work.     Further- 
more,   it    may    demand    that    the    said    person    or    estab- 
lishment  compensate   the   worker   according   to    the   scale 
rates  for  time  lost  between  his  rejection  and  final  accept- 
ance pursuant  to  the  decision  of  the  Department  of  Labor. 

20 


ARTICLE  V 
Transfer  and  Discharge  of  Workers 

40.  Transfer    of    workers    in     all     enterprises,    estab- 
lishments, or  institutions  employing  paid  labor  is  allowed 
only  if  required  in  the  interest  of  the  business  and  by  the 
decision  of  the  proper  organ  of  management. 

Note.  This  rule  does  not  apply  to  work  with  private 
individuals  employing  paid  labor,  if  the  work  is  of  the  char- 
acter mentioned  in  subdivisions  "b"  and  "c"  of  Section  6. 

41.  The    transfer    of    a    worker   to    other    work    within 
the   enterprise,   establishment   or   institution   where   he   is 
employed  may  be  ordered  by  the  management  of  said  en- 
terprise, establishment  or  institution. 

42.  The   transfer   of    a    worker    to    another   enterprise, 
establishment   or  institution   situated   in   the   same   or   in 
another   locality,   may   be    ordered   by   the   corresponding 
organ   of   management   with   the   consent   of   the   Division 
of  Labor  Distribution. 

43.  The  order  of  the  management  for  the  transfer  of 
a     worker     in     accordance     with     Section     40     may     be 
appealed  from  to  the  proper  Department  of  Labor   (local 
or  district)    by  the  interested  individuals  or  organizations 

44.  The  decision  of  the  Department  of  Labor  in  the 
matter    of   the    transfer    of    a    worker    may    be    appealed 
from  by  the  interested  parties  to  the  District  Department 
of  Labor  or  to  the  People's  Commissariat  of  Labor,  whose 
decision  in  the  matter  in  dispute  is  final  and  not  subject 
to  further  appeal. 

45.  In  case  of  urgent  public  work  the  District  Depart-, 
ment  of  Labor  may  in  agreement  with  the  respective  labor 
bodies  and  with  the  approval  of  the  People's  Commissariat 
of  Labor,  order  the  transfer  of  a  whole  group  of  workers 
from      the      organization      where      they      are      employed 
to  another  organization  in  the  same  or  in  a  different  locality, 
provided  a  sufficient  number  of  volunteers  for  such  work 
cannot  be  found. 

46.  The    discharge    of    workers    from    an    enterprise, 

21 


establishment    or   institution    where   they    have    been   em- 
ployed is  permissible  in  the  following  cases: 

(a)  In  case  of  complete  or  partial  liquidation  of  the 
enterprise,  establishment  or  institution,  or  of  cancella- 
tion of  specific  orders  or  work; 

(b)  Upon   the   expiration  of   the  term   of   employ- 
ment or  completion  of  the  job,  if  the  work  was  of 
a  temporary  character; 

(d)  In  case  of  evident  unfitness  for  work,  by  special 
decision  of  the  management  and  subject  to  agreement 
with  the  respective  trade  unions; 

(e)  By  request  of  the  worker. 

47.  The   management   of   the   enterprise,   establishment 
or  institution  where  a  worker  is  employed,  or  the  person 
for  whom  a  worker  is  working  must  give  the  worker  two 
weeks'  notice  of  the  proposed  discharge,  for  the  reasons 
stated    in   subdivisions   "a",   "b"   and   "d"   of   section   46, 
notifying    simultaneously    the    local    Division    of    Labor 
Distribution. 

48.  A     worker     discharged     for     the     reasons     stated 
in  subdivisions  "a",  "b"  and  "d"  of  section  46  shall  be 
considered  unemployed  from  the  date  of  the  notice  of  dis- 
charge and  entered  as  such  on  the  lists  of  the  Division 
of  Labor  Distribution  and  shall  continue  to  perform  his 
work  until  the  expiration  of  the  term  of  two  weeks  men- 
tioned in  the  preceding  section. 

49.  The  order  to  discharge  an  employee  for  the  reasons 
stated   in   subdivisions   "a",   "b"   and   "d"   of   Section   46 
may  be  appealed  from  by  the  interested  persons  to   the 
Local  Department  of  Labor. 

50.  The  decision  of  the  Local  Department  of  Labor  in 
the  matter  of  discharge  may  be  appealed  from  by,  either 
party  to  the  District  Department  of  Labor,  whose  decision 
on  the  question   in   dispute   is   final  and   not   subject   to 
further  appeal. 

51.  Voluntary    resignation    by    the    worker     (Sec.    46, 
subd.  "d")  from  an  enterprise,  establishment  or  institution 
must  be  preceded  by  an  examination  of  the  reasons  for 
the  resignation  by  the  respective  organ  of  workmen's  self- 
government   (works  and  kindred  committees). 

Note.  This  rule  does  not  apply  to  the  resignation  of  a 
worker  employed  by  an  individual,  if  the  work  is  of 
the  character  mentioned  in  subdivisions  "b"  and  "c"  of 
Section  6. 

22 


52.  If  the  organ  of  workers'  self-government  (works  or 
kindred  committee)   after  investigating  the  reasons  for  the 
resignation  finds   the   same  unjustified,   the  worker  must 
remain   at   work,   but   may   appeal   from   the  decision   of 
the  committee  to  the  proper  trade  union. 

53.  A   worker   who   quits   work   contrary   to   the   deci- 
sion of  the  Committee  made  pursuant  to  Section  52,  shall 
forfeit  for  one  week  the  right  to  register  with  the  Division 
of  Labor  Distribution. 

54.  Institutions  and  persons  employing  paid  labor  shall, 
whenever    a    worker     quits     work,     inform    thereof    the 
Local    Division    of    Labor    Distribution    and    the    trade 
union  of  which  the  worker  is  a  member,  stating  the  dat« 
and  the  reason. 


ARTICLE  VI 

Remuneration  of  Labor 

55.  The     remuneration     of     workers     in     enterprises, 
establishments     and    institutions    employing    paid    labor, 
and  the  particular  conditions  and  manner  of  payment  shall 
be  fixed  by  scales  worked  out  for  each  kind  of  labor  in  the 
manner  described  in  Section  7-9  of  the  present  Code. 

56.  In  fixing  the  scale  standards  the  institutions  which 
work  out  the  same  must  not  deviate  from  the  provisions  of 
this  article  of  the  Code  of  Labor  Laws. 

57.  The  institutions  which  work  out  the  scales,  shall, 
in  fixing  the  rates  of  remuneration,  divide  all  the  workers 
into  groups  and  categories  and  a  definite  standard  of  re- 
muneration shall  be  fixed  for  each  of  them. 

58.  The   standard  of  remuneration  fixed   by   the   scale 
rates  must  be  at  least  sufficient  to  provide  for  the  minimum 
living  expenses  as  determined  by  the  People's  Commissariat 
of  Labor  for  each  district  of  the  Russian  Socialist   Fed- 
eral Soviet  Republic  and  published  in  the  Compilation  of 
Laws   and  Regulations    of   the    Workmen's   and   Peasants9 
Government. 

59.  In   determining   the    standard   of   remuneration   for 
each  group   and  category  attention  shall  be  given  to  the 
kind  of  labor,  the  danger  of  the  conditions  under  which 
the  work  is  performed,  the  complexity  and  accuracy  of  the 
work,   the   degree   of   independence   and   responsibility    as 
well  as  the  standard  of  education  and  experience  required 
for  the  performance  of  the  work. 

60.  The  remuneration  of  each   worker  shall   be  deter- 
mined   by    his    classification    in    a    definite    group    and 
category. 

61.  The    classification    of    workers    into     groups    and 
categories  within  each  branch  of  labor  shall  be  made  by 
special    valuation    commissions,    local    and    central,    estab- 
lished by  the  respective  trade  unions. 

Note.    The    procedure    of    valuation    commissions    shall 
be  determined  by  the  People's  Commissariat  of  Labor. 

24 


(       ~S 

2.VThe  scalerulesjs 
a  normal  working  da 


62.  VThe  scale  rules  /  shall  fix  the  rates  of  remuneration 
for  a  normal  working  day  or  for  piece  work,  and  shall  also 
specify  the  remuneration  for  overtime  work. 

63.  Remuneration  for  piece  work  shall  be  computed  by 
dividing  the  daily  scale  rate  by  the  number  of  pieces  con- 
stituting the  production  standard. 

64.  The  standard  of  remuneration  fixed   for   overtime 
work   shall   not   exceed   time   and   a   half   of   the   normal 
remuneration. 

65.  Excepting  the  remuneration  paid  for  overtime  work 
done  in  the  same  or  in  a  different  branch  of  labor,  no  sup- 
plementary remuneration  in  excess  of  the  standard  fixed  for 
a  given  group  and  category  shall  be  permitted,  irrespective 
of  the  pretext  and  form  under  which  it  might  be  offered 
and  whether  it  be  paid  in  only  one  or  in  several  places 
of  employment. 

66.  Persons   working   in   several   places   must   state   in 
which  place  of  employment  they  desire  to  receive  their 
pay. 

67.  Any  person  receiving   supplementary  remuneration, 
in  violation  of  Section  65,  shall  be  liable  to  criminal  pro- 
secution for  fraud,  and  the  remuneration  received  in  excess 
of  the  standard  shall  be  deducted  from  subsequent  pay- 
ments to  such  person. 

68.  From    the    remuneration    of    the    worker    may    be 
deducted  the  supplementary  remuneration  received  in  vio- 
lation of  Section  65,  and  the  remuneration  earned  by  the 
worker    during   his    vacation    (Sec.    Ill)  ;    deduction    may 
also  be  made  for  absence  from  work. 

69.  No    other    deductions,    except    those    mentioned    in 
Section  68,  shall  be  permitted  irrespective  of  the  form  or 
pretext  under  which  they  might  be  made. 

70.  Payment   of   remuneration   must   not   be   made    in 
advance. 

71.  If  the  work  is  of  a  permanent  nature,  payment  for 
the  same  must  be  made  periodically,  at  least  once  in  every 
fortnight.     Remuneration  for  temporary  work  and  for  spe- 
cial jobs,  if  the  same  continue  less  than  two  weeks,  shall 
be  paid  immediately  after  the  work  has  been  completed. 

72.  Payments  shall  be  made  in  money  or  in  kind  (lodg- 
ings, food  supplies,  or  other  articles). 

73.  To  make  payments  in  kind  special  permission  must 
be  obtained  from  the  Local  Department  of  Labor  which 

25 


shall  determine  the  rates  jointly  with  the  respective  trade 
unions. 

Note.  The  rates  thus  determined  must  be  based  on  the 
standard  prices  fixed  by  the  respective  institutions  of  the 
Soviet  authority  (valuation  commissions  of  the  Food  Com- 
missariat and  the  Land  and  Housing  Department,  Price 
Committees,  etc.). 

74.  Payments  must  be  made  during  working  hours. 

75.  Payments  must  be  made  at  the  place  of  work. 

76.  The   worker  shall   be   paid   only   for   actual   work 
done.     If  a  cessation  of  work  is  caused  during  the  working 
day  by  circumstances  beyond  the  control  of   the  worker 
(through  accident  or  through  the  fault  of  the  administra- 
tion), he  shall  be  paid  for  the  time  lost,  on  the  basis  of 
the  daily  scale  rates,  if  he  be  employed  on  time  work,  or 
on  the  basis  of  his  average  daily  earnings  if  he  -  be  em- 
ployed on  piece  work. 

77.  A    worker    shall   be    paid    his    wage   during    leave 
of  absence  (Sections  106-107). 

78.  During    illness     of    a    worker    the    remuneration 
due  him  shall  be  paid  as  a  subsidy  from  the  hospital  fund. 

Note.  The  manner  of  payment  of  the  subsidy  is  fixed 
by  rules  appended  hereto  (page  40) . 

79.  Unemployed  shall  receive  a  subsidy  out  of  the  fund 
for  unemployed. 

Note.  Rules  concerning  unemployed  and  the  payment  of 
subsidies  to  them  are  appended  hereto  (page  42). 

80.  Every    worker    must    have    a    labor    booklet    in 
which  all  matters  pertaining  to  the  work  done  by  him,  as 
well  as  the  payments  and  subsidies  received  by  him  are 
to  be  entered.  _ 

Note.  Rules  regarding  labor  booklets  are  appended 
hereto  (page  45). 


26 


ARTICLE  VII 
Working  Hours 

81.  Working  hours  shall  be  regulated  by  rules  made 
for  each  kind  of  labor,  in  the  manner  described  in  Sections 
7-9  of  the  Present  Code. 

82.  The  rules  relating  to  working  hours  must  conform 
with  the  provisions  of  this  article  of  the  Code  of  Labor 
Laws. 

83.  A  normal  working  day  shall  mean  the  time  fixed 
by  the  scale  regulations  for  the  production  of  a  certain 
amount  of  work. 

84.  The  duration  of  a  normal  working  day  must  in  no 
case  exceed  eight  hours  for  day  work  and  seven  hours  for 
night  work. 

85.  The  duration  of  a  normal  day  must  not  exceed  six 
hours:    (a)   for  persons  under  18  years  of  age,  and    (b) 
in  especially  hard  or  health-endangering  branches  of  in- 
dustry (note  to  Section  14  of  the  present  Code). 

86.  During  the  normal  working  day  time  must  be  allowed 
for  meals  and  for  rest. 

87.  During  recess  machines,  beltings  and  lathes  must 
be  stopped,  unless  this  be  impossible  owing  to  technical 
conditions  or  in  cases  where  these  machines,  beltings,  etc., 
serve  for  ventilations,  drainage,  lighting,  etc. 

88.  The  time  of  recess  fixed  by  Section  86  is  not  in- 
cluded in  the  working  hours. 

89.  The  recess  must  take  place  not  later  than  four  hours 
after  the  beginning  of  the  working  day,  and  must  continue 
not  less  than  a  half  hour  and  not  more  than  two  hours. 

Note.  Additional  intermissions  every  three  hours,  and 
for  not  less  than  a  half  hour,  must  be  allowed  for  working 
women  who  are  nursing  children. 

90.  The  wage  earners  may  use  their  free  time  at  their 
own  discretion.    They  shall  be  allowed  during  recess  to 
leave  the  place  of  work. 

91.  In  case  the  nature  of  the  work  requires  a  working 

27 


day  in  excess  of  the  normal  working  day  fixed  for  the  given 
class  of  labor,  two  or  more  shifts,  may  be  engaged. 

92.  Where  there  are  several  shifts,  each  shift  shall  work 
the  normal  working  day;   the  change  of  shifts  must  take 
place  during  the  time  fixed  by  the  rules  of  the  internal 
management   without   interfering   with   the   normal   course 
of  work. 

93.  As  a  general  rule,  work  in  excess  of  the  normal 
hours  (overtime  work)  shall  not  be  permitted. 

94.  Overtime  work  may  be  permitted  in  the  following 
exceptional  cases: 

(a)  Where  the  work  is  necessary  for  the  prevention 
of  a  public  calamity  or  in  case  the  existence  of  the 
Government  of   the   Russian   Socialist   Federal   Soviet 
Republic  or  human  life  is  endangered; 

(b)  In  emergency  public  work  connected  with  water 
supply,   lighting,  sewerage  or  transportation,   in   case 
of  accident  or  extraordinary  interruption  of  their  regu- 
lar operation ; 

(c)  When  work  has  to  be  completed  which  owing 
to    unforeseen   or   accidental   delay    due   to    technical 
conditions  of  production  could  not  be  completed  dur- 
ing the  normal   working   hours,  if   leaving   the   work 
unfinished   would   cause   damage  to   materials  or  ma- 
chinery ; 

(d)  On  repairs  or  renewal  of  machine  parts  or  con- 
struction work,  wherever  necessary  to  prevent  stoppage 
of  work  by  a  considerable  number  of  workers. 

95.  In  the  case  described  in  subdivision  "c"  of  Section 
94,  overtime  work  is  permissible  only  with  the  consent  of 
the  respective  trade  union. 

96.  For  overtime  work  described  in  subdivision  "d"  of 
Section   94  permission  must   be   obtained   from   the   local 
labor  inspection,  in  addition  to  the  permit  mentioned  in 
the  preceding  section. 

97.  No  females  and  no  males  under  18  years  of  age 
may  do  any  overtime  work. 

98.  The  time  spent  on  overtime  work  in  the  course  of 
two  consecutive  days  must  not  exceed  4  hours. 

99.  No  overtime  work  shall  be  permitted  to  make  up 
for  a  worker's  tardiness  in  reporting  at  his  place  of  work. 

100.  All    overtime    work    done    by    a    worker,    as    well 

28 


as  the  remuneration  received  by  him  for  the  same,  must 
be  recorded  in  his  labor  booklet. 

101.  The  total  number  of  days  on  which  overtime  may 
be  permitted   in  any  enterprise,  establishment  or  institu- 
tion must  not  exceed  50  days  per  annum,  including  such 
days  when  even  one  worker  worked  overtime. 

102.  Every  enterprise,  establishment  or  institution  must 
keep  a  special  record  book  for  overtime  work. 

103.  All    workers    must    be    allowed    a    weekly    un- 
interrupted rest  of  not  less  than  42  hours. 

104.  No   work   shall   be   done  on   specially   designated 
holidays. 

Nate.  Rules  Concerning  holidays  and  days  of  weekly 
rest  are  appended  hereto. 

105.  On  the  eve  of  rest  days  the  normal  working  day 
shall  be  reduced  by  two  hours. 

Note.  This  section  shall  not  apply  to  institutions  and 
enterprises  where  the  working  day  does  not  exceed  six 
hours. 

106.  Every    worker    who    has    worked    without    inter- 
ruption not  less  than  six  months  shall  be  entitled  to  leave 
of    absence   for   two    weeks,    irrespective   of    whether   he 
worked  in  only  one  or  in  several  enterprises,  establishments 
or  institutions. 

107.  Every     worker     who     has     worked     without     in- 
terruption not  less  than  a  year  shall  be  entitled  to  leave 
of    absence    for    one    month,    irrespective    of    whether    he 
worked  in  only  one  or  in   several   enterprises,  establish- 
ments or  institutions. 

Note.  Sections  106  and  107  shall  take  effect  beginning 
January  1,  1919. 

108.  Leave  of  absence  may  be  granted  during  the  whole 
year,  provided  that  the  same  does  not  interfere  with  the 
normal   course   of   work   in    the   enterprise,   establishment 
or  institution. 

109.  The  time  and  order  in  which  leave  of  absence  may 
be  granted  shall  be  determined  by  agreement  between  the 
management  of  the  enterprise,  establishment  or  institution 
and  proper  self-government  bodies  of  the  workers   (works 
and  kindred  committees) . 

110.  A    worker   shall    not    be   at    liberty    to    work    for 
remuneration  during  his  leave  of  absence. 

111.  The    remuneration    of    a    worker    earned    during 

29 


his  leave  of  absence  shall  be  deducted  from  his  regular 
wages. 

112.  The  absence  of  a  worker  from  work  caused 
by  special  circumstances  and  permitted  by  the  manager 
shall  not  be  counted  as  leave  of  absence;  the  worker 
shall  not  be  paid  for  the  working  hours  lost  in  such  cases. 


30 


ARTICLE  VIII 

Methods  to  Secure  Efficiency  of  Labor 

113.  In    order    to    secure    efficiency    of    labor,    every 
worker    in    an    enterprise,    establishment    or    institution 
(governmental,   public   or  private)    employing   paid  labor 
in  the  form  of  organized  cooperation,  as  well  as  the  admin- 
istration of  the  enterprise,  establishment  or  institution,  shall 
strictly  observe  the  rules  of  this  article  of  the  Code  relative 
to   standards   of   efficiency,   output   and   rules   of  internal 
management. 

114.  Every    worker    must  .  during    a    normal    working 
day   and   under   normal   working   conditions   perform   the 
standard  amount  of  work  fixed  for  the  category  and  group 
in  which  he  is  enrolled. 

Note.    Normal  conditions  referred  to  in  this  section,  shall 
mean: 

(a)  Good    condition    of   machines,   lathes    and    ac- 
cessories; 

(b)  Timely  delivery  of  materials   and  tools  neces- 
sary for  the  performance  of  the  work; 

(c)  Good  quality  of  materials  and  tools; 

(d)  Proper  hygienic  and  sanitary  equipment  of  the 
buildings  where  the  work  is  performed  (necessary  light- 
ing, heating,  etc.). 

115.  The   standard   output   for   workers  of   each   trade 
and  of  each  group  and  category  shall  be  fixed  by  valuation 
commissions  of  the  respective -trade  unions  (Section  61). 

116.  In  determining  the  standard  output  the  valuation 
commission  shall  take  into  consideration  the  quantity  of 
products   usually  turned  out  in  the  course  of  a  normal 
working  day  and  under  normal  technical  conditions  by  the 
workers  of  the  particular  trade,  group  and  category. 

117.  The  production  standards  of  output  adopted  by  the 
valuation  commission  must  be  approved  by  the  proper  De- 
partment of  Labor  jointly  with  the  Council  of  National 
Economy. 

31 


118.  A    worker    habitually    producing    less    than    the 
fixed    standard    may    be    transferred    by    decision    of    the 
proper  valuation  commission  to  other  work  in  the  same 
group  and  category,  or  to  a  lower  group  or  category,  with 
a  corresponding  reduction   of  wages. 

Note.  The  worker  may  appeal  from  the  decision 
to  transfer  him  to  a  lower  group  or  category  with  a  reduc- 
tion of  wages,  to  the  local  Department  of  Labor  and  from 
the  decision  of  the  latter  to  the  District  Department  of 
Labor,  whose  decision  shall  be  final  and  not  subject  to 
further  appeal. 

119.  If    a    worker's    failure    to    maintain    the    standard 
output  be  due  to  lack  of  good  faith  and  to  negligence  on 
his  part,  he  may  be  discharged  in  the  manner  set  forth 
in  subdivision  "d"  of  Section  46  without  the  two  weeks' 
notice  prescribed  by  Section  47. 

120.  The  Supreme  Council  of  National  Economy  jointly 
with   the   People's   Commissariat  of   Labor  may   direct   a 
general  increase  or  decrease  of  the  standards  of  efficiency 
and    output    for    all    workers    and    for    all    enterprises, 
establishments  and  institutions  of  a  given  district. 

121.  In  addition  to  the  regulations  of  the  present  article 
relative    to    standards   of   efficiency   and    output   in   enter- 
prises, establishments   and  institutions,  efficiency  of  labor 
shall  be  secured  by  rules  of  internal  management. 

122.  The  rules  of  internal  management  in  Soviet  insti- 
tutions shall  be  made  by  the  organs  of  Soviet  authority 
with  the  approval  of  the  People's  Commissariat  of  Labor 
or  its  local  departments. 

123.  The   rules   of   internal    management   in   industrial 
enterprises  and  establishments  (Soviet,  nationalized,  private 
and  public)   shall  be  made  by  the  trade  unions  and  certi- 
fied by  the  proper  Departments  of  Labor. 

124.  The  rules   of   internal   management   must   include 
clear,  precise,  and,  as  far  as  possible,  exhaustive  directions 
in  relation  to — 

(a)  The   general  obligations   of  all  workers    (care- 
ful  handling   of   all   materials    and  tools,    compliance 
with  instructions  of  the  managers  regarding  perform- 
ance  of   work,   observance   of   the   fixed   standard   of 
working  hours  etc.)  ; 

(b)  The    special    duties    of    the    workers    of    the 
particular    branch    of   industry    (careful    handling    of 
the   fire   in   enterprises    using    inflammable   materials, 

32 


observance  of   special   cleanliness   in   enterprises  pro- 
ducing food  products,  etc.) ; 

(c)   The  limit   and   manner  of  liability  for  breach 
of   the    duties    mentioned    above   in   subdivisions    "a" 
»       and  "b". 

125.  The    enforcement    of    rules    of    internal    manage- 
ment in  Soviet  institutions  is  entrusted  to  the  responsibile 
managers  of  these  institutions.  + 

126.  The  enforcement  of  the  rules  of  internal  manage- 
ment in  industrial  enterprises  and  establishments   (Soviet,      £*^ 
nationalized,  public  and  private)    is  entrusted  to  the  self- 
government    bodies    of    the    workers     (works    or    similar 
committees). 


ARTICLE  IX 
Protection    of    Labor 

127.  Protection   of  the  life,  health  and  labor  of  per- 
sons engaged  in  any  economic  activity  is  entrusted  to  the 
labor  inspection,  the  technical  inspectors  and  the  repre- 
sentatives of  sanitary  inspection. 

128.  The  labor  inspection  is  under  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  People's  Commissariat  of  Labor  and  its  local  branches 
(Departments  of  Labor)  and  is  composed  of  elected  labor 
inspectors. 

129.  Labor  inspectors  shall  be  elected  by  the  Councils 
of  Trade  Unions. 

Note  1.  The  manner  of  election  of  labor  inspectors  shall 
be  determined  by  the  People's  Commissariat  of  Labor. 

Note  II.  In  districts  where  there  is  no  Council  of  Trade 
Unions,  the  Local  Department  of  Labor  shall  summon  a 
conference  of  representatives  of  the  trade  unions  which 
shall  elect  the  labor  inspectors. 

130.  In  performing  the  duties  imposed  upon  them  con- 
cerning    the     protection     of     the    lives     and     health     of 
workers  the  officers  of  labor  inspection  shall  enforce  the 
regulations  of  the  present  Code,  and  the  decrees,  instruc- 
tions, orders  and  other  acts  of  the  Soviet  authority  intended 
to  safeguard  the  lives  and  health  of  the  workers. 

131.  For  the  attainment  of  the  purposes  stated  in  Sec- 
tion 130  the  officers  of  labor  inspection  are  authorized — 

(a)  To  visit  at  any  time  of  the  day  or  night  all  the 
industrial  enterprises  of  their  districts  and  all  places 
where  work  is   carried  on,   as   well   as   the  buildings 
provided  for  the  workmen  by  the  enterprise   (rooming 
nouses,  hospitals,  day  nurseries,  baths,  etc.)  ; 

(b)  To  require  the  managers  of  enterprises  or  estab- 
lishments,   as    well    as    the    elective    officials    of    the 
workers     (works    and    similar    committees)     of    those 
enterprises   or   establishments   in   the   management   of 
which  they  are  participating^  to  produce  all  necessary 
books,  records  and  information; 

34 


(c)  To  draw  to  the  work  of  inspection  representa- 
tives of  the  elective  organizations  of  employees,  as  well 
as  officials  of  the  administration    (managers,  superin- 
tendents, foremen,  etc.)  ; 

(d)  To  bring  before  the  criminal  court  all  violators 
of   the    regulations   of   the   present    Code,    or   of   the 
decrees,    instructions,   orders    and    other    acts   of   the 
Soviet  authority  intended  to  safeguard  the  lives   and 
health  of  the  workers; 

(e)  To  take  part  in  the  proceedings  of  trade  unions 
and  works  committees  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining 
the  labor  conditions  in  individual  enterprises  as  well 
as  in  entire  branches  of  industry. 

132.  The  officers  of  labor  inspection  are  authorized  to 
adopt  special  measures,  in  addition  to  the  measures  men- 
tioned in  the  preceding  section,  for  the  removal  of  condi- 
tions endangering  the  lives  and  health  of  workmen,  even 
if  such  measures  have  not  been  provided  for  by  any  par- 
ticular law  or  regulation,  instructions  or  order  of  the  Peo- 
ple's Commissariat  of  Labor  or  of  the  Local  Department 
of  Labor. 

Note.  Upon  taking  special  measures  to  safeguard  the 
lives  and  health  of  workers,  as  authorized  by  the 
present  section,  the  officers  of  the  inspection  shall  imme- 
diately report  thereof  to  the  Local  Department  of  Labor, 
which  may  either  approve  these  measures  or  reject  them. 

133.  The  scope  of  the  forms  of  activity  of  the  organs 
of  labor  inspection  shall  be  determined  by  instructions  and 
orders  issued  by  the  People's  Commissariat  of  Labor. 

134.  The    enforcement    of    the    instructions,    rules    and 
regulations  relating  to  safety  appliances  is  entrusted  to  the 
technical  inspectors. 

135.  The  technical  inspectors  shall  be  appointed  by  the 
local    Divisions    of    Labor   from    among    engineering    spe- 
cialists; these  inspectors  shall  perform  within  their  juris- 
diction the  duties  prescribed  by  Section  131  of  the  present 
Code. 

136.  The  technical  inspectors  shall  be  guided  in  their 
activity,  besides  the  general  regulations,  by  the  instructions 
and  orders  of  the  People's  Commissariat  of  Labor  and  by 
the  instructions   issued   by   the   technical   division  of  the 
local  Division  of  Labor. 

35 


137.  The  activity  of  the  sanitary  inspection  shall  be 
determined  by  instructions  issued  by  the  People's  Com- 
missariat of  Health  Protection  jointly  with  the  People's 
Commissariat  of  Labor. 


36 


APPENDIX  TO  SECTION  5 

(See  page  15  above) 
Rules  for  the  Determination  of  Disability  for   Work 

1.  Disability  for  work  shall  be  determined  by  an  exam- 
ination of  the  applicant  by  the  Bureau  of  Medical  Experts, 
of  the  city,  regional,  or  provincial  insurance  fund,  as  well 
as  of  accident  insurance  funds,  or  institutions   acting   as 
such. 

Note.  In  case  it  be  impossible  to  organize  a  Bureau  of 
Medical  Experts  at  any  insurance  office,  such  a  Bureau 
may  be  organized  at  the  Medical  Sanitary  Department  of 
the  local  Soviet,  provided,  however,  that  the  said  Bureau 
shall  be  guided  in  its  actions  by  the  general  rules  and 
instructions  for  insurance  funds. 

2.  The  staff  of  the  Bureau  of  Experts  shall  include: 

(a)  Not  less  than  three  physicians; 

(b)  Representatives   of  the   Board  of  Directors   of 
the  insurance  fund; 

(c)  Sanitary    mechanical    engineers    appointed    by 
the  Board  of  the  insurance  fund; 

(d)  Representatives  of  the  trade  unions. 

Note.  The  physicians  on  the  staff  of  the  Bureau  shall 
be  recommended  by  the  medical  sanitary  department,  with 
the  consent  of  the  Board  of  Director,  preferably  from 
among  the  physicians  connected  with  the  hospital  fund, 
and  shall  be  confirmed  by  a  general  meeting  of  the  in- 
surance fund. 

3.  During  the  examination  of  a  person  at  the  Bureau 
of  the  Medical  Commission,  all  persons  who  have  applied 
for  the  examination  may  be  present. 

4.  Proceedings    for   the    determination    of    the    loss    of 
working  ability  may  be  instituted  by  any  person  or  insti- 
tution. 

5.  Applications  for  examination  shall  be  made  to   the 
insurance  office  nearest  to  the  residence  of  the  person  in 
question. 

37 


6.  Examination  shall  take  place  in  a  special  room  of 
the  insurance  office. 

Note.  If  the  person  to  be  examined  cannot  be  brought 
to  the  insurance  office,  owing  to  his  condition,  the  exam- 
ination may  take  place  at  his  residence. 

7.  Every  person  who  is  to  be  examined  at  the  Bureau 
of   Medical  Experts  shall   be  informed  by  the   respective 
insurance  office  of  the  day  and  hour  set  for  the  examina- 
tion and  of  the  location  of  the  section  of  the  Bureau  of 
Medical  Experts  where  the  same  is  to  take  place. 

8.  The  Bureau  of  Medical  Experts  may  use  all  methods 
approved  by  medical  science  for  determining  disability  for 
work. 

9.  The  Bureau  of  Medical  Experts  shall  keep  detailed 
minutes  of  the  conference  meetings,  and  the  record  em- 
bodying  the  results   of  the  examinations  shall   be  signed 
by  all  members  of  the  Bureau. 

10.  A  person  who  has  undergone  an  examination  and 
has  been  found  unfit  for  work  shall  receive  a  certificate 
from  the  Bureau  of  Medical  Experts. 

Note.  A  copy  of  the  certificate  shall  be  kept  in  the 
files  of  the  Bureau. 

11.  The  records  as  well  as  the  certificates  shall  show 
whether  the   disability   is    of   a   permanent    or   temporary 
character.     If   the   disability  for   work   be   temporary,   the 
record  and  certificate  shall  show  the  date  set  for  a  second 
examination. 

12.  After  the  disability  for  work  has  been  certified  the 
proper  insurance  office  shall  inform  thereof  the  Department 
of  Social  Insurance  of  the  local  Soviet,  stating  the  name, 
surname  and  address  of  the  person  disabled,   as  well  as 
the    character    of    the    disability    (whether    temporary    or 
permanent) . 

13.  The   decision    of   the   Bureau   of   Medical   Experts 
certifying  or  denying  the  disability  of  the  applicant  may 
be  appealed  from  by  the  interested  parties  to  the  People's 
Commissariat  of  Health  Protection. 

14.  The    People's    Commissariat    of    Health    Protection 
may  either  dismiss  the  appeal  or  issue  an  order  for  the 
re-examination  of  appellant  by  a  new  staff  of  the  Bureau 
of  Experts. 

15.  The   decision  of   the   new   staff   of   the   Bureau   of 
Experts  shall  be  final  and  subject  to  no  further  appeal. 

38 


16.  Re-examination  to  establish  the  recovery  of  work- 
ing  ability   shall   be   conducted  in   the   same   manner   as 
the  first  examination,  with  the  observance  of  the  regula- 
tions of  the  present  Rules. 

17.  The  expenses  incurred  in  connection  with  the  ex- 
amination of  an  insured  person  shall  be  charged  to  the 
respective  insurance  office.    The  expenses  incurred  in  con- 
nection with  the  examination  of  a  person  not  insured  shall 
be  charged  to  the  respective  enterprise,  establishment  or 
institution. 

18.  The  People's  Commissariat  of  Labor  may,  if  nec- 
essary, modify  or  amend  the  present  Rules  for  the  deter- 
mination of  disability  for  work. 


APPENDIX  TO  SECTION  78 

(See  page  26  above) 

Rules   Concerning  Payment  of  Sick  Benefits    (Subsidies) 
to  Workers 

1.  Every  worker  shall  receive  during  sickness  a  subsidy 
and   medical   aid  from   the  local  hospital   fund   of   which 
he  is  a  member. 

Note  I.  Each  person  may  be  a  member  of  only  one 
insurance  fund  at  a  time. 

Note  II.  A  person  who  has  been  ill  outside  the  district 
of  the  local  hospital  fund  of  which  he  is  a  member  shall 
receive  the  subsidy  from  the  hospital  fund  of  the  district 
in  which  he  has  been  taken  ill.  All  expenses  thus  in- 
curred shall  be  charged  to  the  hospital  fund  of  which 
the  particular  person  is  a  member. 

2.  The   sick   benefits    shall   be   paid    to   a   member   of 
a  hospital  fund  from  the  first  day   of  his   sickness  until 
the  day  of  his  recovery,  with  the  exception  of  those  days 
during  which  he  has  worked  and  accordingly  received  re- 
muneration from  the   enterprise,  establishment  or  institu- 
tion where  he  is  employed. 

3.  The  sick  benefit  shall  be  equal  to  the  remuneration 
fixed  for  a  worker  of  the  respective  group  and  category. 

Note  I.  The  group  and  category  in  which  the  worker 
is  enrolled  shall  be  ascertained  by  the  local  hospi- 
tal fund  through  the  Division  of  Labor  Distribution 
and  through  the  trade  unions. 

Note  II.  The  subsidy  for  pregnant  women  and  those 
lying-in  shall  be  fixed  by  special  regulations  of  the 
People's  Commissariat  of  Labor. 

Note  III.  In  exceptional  cases  the  People's  Commis- 
sariat of  Labor  may  reduce  the  subsidy  to  the  minimum 
of  living  expenses  as  determined  for  the  respective  district. 

4.  Besides  the  subsidies,  the  hospital  funds  shall  also 
provide  for  their  members  free  medical  aid  of  every  kind 
(first    aid,   ambulatory   treatment,    home   treatment,    treat- 
ment in  sanatoria  or  resorts,  etc.). 

40 


Note.  To  secure  medical  aid  any  hospital  fund  may 
independently,  or  in  conjunction  with  other  local  funds, 
organize  and  maintain  its  own  ambulatories,  hospitals, 
etc.,  as  well  as  enter  into  agreements  with  individual  phy- 
sicians and  establishments. 

5.  The  resources  of  the  local  hospital  funds  shall  be 
derived : 

(a)  From  obligatory  payments  by  enterprises,  estab- 
lishments and  institutions  (Soviet,  public  and  private) 
employing  paid  labor: 

(b)  From  fines  for  delay  of  payments; 

(c)  From  profits  on  the  investments  of  the  funds; 

(d)  From  casual  payments. 

Note.  The  resources  of  the  local  hospital  funds  shall 
be  consolidated  into  one  common  fund  of  insurance  against 
sickness. 

6.  The  amount  of  the  payments  to  local  hospital  funds 
by   enterprises,   establishments   and  institutions   employing 
paid  labor  shall  be  periodically  fixed  by  the  People's  Com- 
missariat of  Labor. 

Note  I.  In  case  these  obligatory  payments  be  not  paid 
within  the  time  fixed  by  the  local  hospital  funds,  they 
shall  be  collected  by  the  local  Department  of  Labor; 
moreover,  in  addition  to  the  sum  due,  a  fine  of  10  per  cent, 
thereof  shall  be  imposed  for  the  benefit  of  the  hospital 
fund. 

Note  II.  In  case  the  delay  be  due  to  the  fault  of  the 
responsible  managers  of  the  particular  enterprise,  estab- 
lishment, or  institution,  the  fine  shall  be  collected  from  the 
personal  means  of  the  latter. 

7.  The  decision  of  the  hospital  funds  may  be  appealed 
from  within  two  weeks  to  the  Department  of  Labor.    The 
decision  of  the  Departments  of  Labor  shall  be  final  and 
subject  to  no  further  appeal. 

8.  The  People's  Commissariat  of  Labor  may,  whenever 
necessary,  change  or  amend  the  foregoing  rules  concerning 
sick  benefits  to  workers. 


41 


APPENDIX  TO  SECTION  79 

(See  page  26  above) 
Rules  Concerning  Unemployed  and  Payment  of  Subsidies 

1.  "Unemployed"  shall  mean  every  citizen  of  the  Rus- 
sian  Socialist   Federal    Soviet   Republic    subject   to   labor 
duty  who  is   registered  with  the  local  Division  of  Labor 
Distribution  as  being  out  of  work  at  his  vocation  or  at  the 
remuneration  fixed  by  the  proper  tariff. 

2.  "Unemployed"  shall  likewise  mean: 

(a)  Any  person  who  has  obtained  employment  for 
a  term  not  exceeding  two  weeks   (Section  25  of  the 
present  Code)  ; 

(b)  Any  person  who  is  temporarily   employed  out- 
side his  vocation,   until   he  shall  obtain  work  at  his 
vocation   (Sections  29  and  30  of  the  present  Code). 

3.  The  rights  of  unemployed  shall  not  be  extended — 

(a)  To  persons  who  in  violation  of  Sections  21,  24 
and  29  of  the  present  Code,  have  evaded  the  labor 
duty,  and  refused  work  offered  to  them; 

(b)  To  persons  not  registered  as  unemployed  with 
the    local    Division    of    Labor    Distribution     (Section 
21  of  the  present  Code) ; 

(c)  To  persons  who  have  wilfully  quit  work,  during 
the  term  specified  in  Section  53  of  the  present  Code. 
4.     All     persons     described     in     Sections     1     and    2 

of  these  Rules  shall  be  entitled  to  permanent 
employment  (for  a  term  exceeding  two  weeks)  at 
their  vocation  in  the  order  of  priority  determined  by  the 
list  of  the  Division  of  Labor  Distribution  for  each 
vocation. 

5.  Persons  described  in  Section  1  and  subdivision  "b". 
of  Section  2  of  these  Rules  shall  be  entitled  to  a  subsidy 
from  the  local  fund  for  unemployed. 

6.  The  subsidy  to   unemployed   provided   in   Section   1 
of  the  present  Rules  shall  be  equal  to  the  remuneration 
fixed  by  the  scale  for  the  group  and  category  to  which 

42 


the   worker   was    assigned    by    the    valuation    commissiofc 
(Section  61). 

Note.  In  exceptional  cases  the  People's  Commissariat 
of  Labor  may  reduce  the  unemployed  subsidy  to  the  mini- 
mum of  living  expenses  as  determined  for  the  district 
in  question. 

7.  A    worker    employed    temporarily    outside    of    his 
vocation    (Subdivision  "b"  of  Section  2  of  these  Rules) 
shall  receive  a  subsidy  equal  to  the  difference  between  the 
remuneration  fixed  for  the  group  and  category  in  which  he 
is  enrolled  and  his  actual  remuneration,  in  case  the  latter 
be  less  than  the  former. 

8.  An  unemployed  who  desires  to  avail  himself  of  his 
right  19  a  subsidy  shall  apply  to  the  local  fund  for  un- 
employed and  shall  present  the  following  documents:   (a) 
his    registration    card   from   the   local    Division   of   Labor 
Distribution;  and    (b)    a  certificate  of  the  valuation  com- 
mission showing  his  assignment  to  a  definite  group  and 
category  of  workers. 

9.  Before  the  subsidy  is  paid  the  fact  of  unemployment 
and  the  reason  thereof  must  be  verified  and  the  group  and 
category    to    which    the    unemployed    belongs    must    be 
ascertained.     The  verification  shall  be  made  by  the  local 
fund  for  unemployed,  with  the  assistance  of  the  Division 
of  Labor  Distribution  and  the  respective  trade  union. 

10.  The  local  fund  for  unemployed  may  for  good  rea- 
sons deny  the  application  for  a  subsidy. 

11.  If  an  application  is  denied,  the  local  fund  for  un- 
employed shall,  within  three  days  from  the  filing  of  the 
application,  inform  the  applicant  thereof. 

12.  The  decision  of  the  local  fund  for  unemployed  may 
within  two  weeks  be  appealed  from  by  the  interested  par- 
ties to  the  local  Department  of  Labor,  and  the  decision 
of  the  latter  may  be  appealed  from  to  the  District  Depart- 
ment of  Labor.     The  decision  of  the  District  Department 
of  Labor  shall  be  final  and  subject  to  no  further  appeal. 

13.  iThe  payment  of  the  subsidy  to  an  unemployed  shall 
commence  only  after  he  has  actually  been  laid  off,  but  not 
later  than  after  the  fourth  day. 

14.  The  subsidies  shall  be  paid  from  the  fund  of  un- 
employment insurance. 

43 


15.  The  fund  of  unemployment  insurance  shall  be  made 
up — 

(a)  from   obligatory    payments    by    all    enterprises, 
establishments  and  institutions  employing  wage  labor; 

(b)  from   fines   and   penalties   imposed   for   arrears 
in  such  payments; 

(c)  from  casual  income. 

16.  The   amount  and  the   manner  of  collection  of  the 
payments  and  fines  mentioned  in  Section  15  of  these  Rules 
shall    be    determined    every   year    by    a    special    order    of 
the  People's  Commissariat  of  Labor. 


44 


APPENDIX  TO  SECTION  80 

(See  page  26  above) 
Rules  Concerning  Labor  Booklets 

1.  All    able-bodied    citizens    of    the    Russian    Socialist 
Federal   Soviet   Republic,    upon   their  assignment   by   the 
valuation  commissariat  of  the  trade  unions  to   a  definite 
group  and  category  (Section  61  of  the  present  Code),  shall 
be  given  labor  booklets  free  of  charge. 

Note.  The  form  of  the  labor  booklets  shall  be  worked 
out  by  the  People's  Commissariat  of  Labor. 

2.  Each     worker,     on     entering     the     employment     of 
an  enterprise,  establishment  or  institution  employing  paid 
labor  in  the  form  of  organized  cooperation,  shall  present 
his  labor  booklet  to  the  management  thereof,  and  on  en- 
tering   the    employment    of    a   private    individual,    to    the 
latter. 

Note.  A  copy  of  the  labor  booklet  shall  be  kept  by 
the  management  of  the  enterprise,  establishment,  institu- 
tion or  by  the  private  individual  by  whom  the  worker 
is  employed. 

3.  All  work  performed  by  a  worker  during  the  normal 
working  day  as  well  as  piece  work  or  overtime  work,  and 
all   payments   received   by   him   as   worker    (remuneration 
in   money   or  in   kind,   subsidies   from  the   unemployment 
and  hospital  funds),  must  be  entered  in  his  labor  booklet. 

Note.  In  the  labor  booklet  must  also  be  entered  the 
leaves  of  absence  and  sick  leave  of  the  worker,  as 
well  as  the  fines  imposed  on  him  during  and  on  account 
of  his  work. 

4.  Each  entry  in  the  labor  booklet  must  be  dated  and 
signed  by  the  person  making  the  entry,  and  also  by  the 
worker  ^  (if    the    latter    is    literate),    who    thereby    certi- 
fies the 'correctness  of  the  entry. 

5.  The  labor  booklet  shall  contain: 

(a)   The  name,  surname  and  date  of  birth  of  the 
worker; 

45 


(b)  The  name  and  address  of  the  trade   union  of 
which  the  worker  is  a  member; 

(c)  The  group  and  category   to  which  the  worker 
has  been  assigned  by  the  valuation  commission. 

6.  Upon   the   discharge   of   a   worker,   his   labor   book- 
let shall  under  no   circumstances  be  withheld  from  him. 
Whenever  an  old  booklet  is  replaced  by  a  new  one,  the 
former  shall  be  left  in  possession  of  the  worker. 

7.  In    case    a    worker    loses    his    labor    booklet,    he 
shall   be   provided   with   a   new   one   into   which   shall   be 
copied    all    the    entries    of    the    lost    booklet;    in    such    a 
case  a  fee  determined  by  the  rules  of  internal  management 
may  be  charged  to  the  worker  for  the  new  booklet. 

8.  A    worker    must    present    his    labor    booklet    upon 
the  request : 

(a)  Of   the   managers   of   the   enterprise,   establish- 
ment or  institution  where  he  is  employed; 

(b)  Of  the  Division  of  Labor  Distribution; 

(c)  Of  the  trade  unions; 

(d)  Of   the   officials   of   workmen's   control    and   of 
labor  protection; 

(e)  Of  the   insurance  offices  or  institutions   acting 
as  such. 


46 


A  CRITICISM  AND  AN  ANSWER 

Criticism  by  President  William  C.  Redfield,  of  the 
American  Russian  Chamber  of  Commerce 

"In  the  issue  of  SOVIET  RUSSIA  for  February  21st, 
the  Soviet  Bureau  publishes  in  full  the  new  code 
of  Labor  Laws  of  Soviet  Russia.  Ostensibly  it  is 
propaganda  to  impress  American  workmen  with  its 
advanced  ideas  as  to  the  right  to  work,  the  eight- 
hour  day,  the  protection  of  women  and  children  in 
industry,  and  unemployment  and  disability  insur- 
ance. As  a  matter  of  fact,  however,  it  shows  a  state 
of  affairs  with  reference  to  labor  which  is  anything 
but  enlightened.  By  it  labor  is  put  back  into  a 
state  of  serfdom  and  oppression  the  like  of  which 
has  not  been  known  for  a  century.  If  every  Ameri- 
can workman  could  read  this  labor  code  carefully 
he  would  be  thoroughly  disillusioned  as  to  the  claim 
that  the  Soviet  Government  of  Russia  is  a  working- 
man's  government  or  that  it  has  interested  itself  in 
the  welfare  of  labor.  It  has,  on  the  contrary,  im- 
posed a  tyranny  which  has  deprived  labor  of  all  the 
rights  and  privileges  hitherto  attained. 

"In  the  first  place,  all  citizens  of  Soviet  Russia 
between  sixteen  and  fifty  who  are  not  incapacitated 
by  injury  or  illness  are  subject  to  compulsory  labor. 
All  laborers  are  divided  into  categories  by  the 

47 


authorities  and  are  subject  to  wage  scales  and  labor 
conditions  laid  down  by  them.  Every  laborer  must 
carry  a  labor  booklet,  which  is  like  a  passport.  In 
it  must  be  entered  every  payment  he  receives,  the 
hours  he  works  or  is  absent,  the  group  and  category 
to  which  he  has  been  assigned  by  the  Valuation 
Commission,  and  every  other  detail  of  his  life  and 
activity.  A  wage  earner  must  present  his  booklet 
upon  the  request  of  any  of  the  authorities  or  in- 
stitutions. 

"A  wage  earner  is  not  permitted  to  change  from 
one  job  to  another  except  by  the  permission  duly 
certified  by  the  labor  authorities,  under  whom  he 
becomes  virtually  an  industrial  serf  bound  to  his 
job.  If  a  man  wishes  to  quit  work,  he  must  secure 
a  certificate  from  the  bureau  of  medical  experts 
proving  his  disability,  and  whether  it  is  temporary 
or  permanent.  Leaves  of  absence  may  be  granted 
by  agreement  between  the  management  of  enter- 
prises and  workmen's  committees,  but  a  wage  earner 
shall  not  be  allowed  to  work  for  remuneration  dur- 
ing his  leave  of  absence. 

"No  American  workman  should  (would?)  sub- 
mit for  a  moment  to  such  a  tyrannical  and  op- 
pressive system  and  a  reading  of  this  code  shows 
clearly  how  far  the  autocracy  at  Moscow  has  gone 
in  the  direction  of  reaction  and  destruction  of  the 
liberty  and  right  of  the  individual." 


43 


OUR  ANSWER  TO  MR.  REDFIELD 

TV/fR-  REDFIELD  is  of  opinion  that  under  Soviet 
-L*-*-  law  "labor  is  put  back  into  a  state  of 
serfdom  and  oppression  the  like  of  which  has  not 
been  known  for  a  century."  The  Soviet  govern- 
ment has  "imposed  a  tyranny  which  has  deprived 
labor  of  all  the  rights  and  privileges  hitherto  at- 
tained." The  laborer  has  become  "virtually  a  serf 
bound  to  his  job." 

"A  reading  of  this  code  shows  clearly,"  exclaims 
Mr.  Redfield,  "how  far  the  autocracy  at  Moscow 
has  gone  in  the  direction  of  reaction  and  destruc- 
tion of  the  liberty  and  right  of  the  individual." 
Mr.  Redfield's  indictment  of  the  Soviet  tyranny  is 
set  forth  in  five  counts. 

1.  All    able-bodied    citizens    of    Soviet    Russia 
between    16   and    50   are   subject   to    compulsory 
labor. 

2.  All  workers  are  classified  by  the  authorities 
and  are  subject  to  wage  scales  and  labor  condi- 
tions laid  down  by  the  authorities. 

3.  A     worker     is    not    permitted     to     change 
from  one  job  to  another  except  by  special  per- 
mission of  the  labor  authorities. 

4.  A  worker  is  not  allowed  to  work  for  pay 
during  his  leave  of  absence. 

5.  Every  worker  must  carry  a   labor  booklet 
which  is  like  a  passport. 

Let  us  examine  each  of  these  charges  seriatim. 
1.  Mr.  Redfield  believes  that  "no  American  work- 

49 


man  should  (meaning:  would)  submit ...  to  such  a 
tyrannical  and  oppressive  system."  He  seems  to  be 
unaware  of  the  existence  of  vagrancy  laws  in  most 
of  the  States  of  the  Union,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
laws  enacted  in  many  States  during  the  late  war, 
which  require  every  able-bodied  male  to  work  a 
certain  number  of  hours  per  week.  The  only  dif- 
ference between  the  American  and  the  Soviet  legis- 
lation on  the  subject  is  that  under  the  laws  of 
Soviet  Russia  the  duty  to  work  has  its  correlative 
in  the  right  to  work,  whereas  in  the  United  States 
a  worker  who  can  find  no  employment  may  be  sent 
to  prison  for  vagrancy. 

Has  Mr.  Redfield  never  heard  of  the  chain  gangs 
in  the  Southern  States,  where  unemployed  negroes 
are  sentenced  to  prison  terms  for  vagrancy  and 
hired  out  by  the  authorities  to  private  contractors 
to  work  on  public  roads?  In  Soviet  Russia,  under 
Section  10  of  the  Code  of  Labor  Laws,  "all  citi- 
zens able  to  work  have  the  right  to  employment 
at  their  vocations."  This  is  not  a  mere  theoretical 
right.  Under  Article  III  of  the  Code  the  right  to 
work  is  enforced  through  the  machinery  of  the 
Soviet  Government.  Every  unemployed  worker 
is  furnished  work  by  the  Division  of  Labor  Dis- 
tribution. In  case  no  work  can  be  found  for  him 
he  is  entitled  to  an  unemployed  benefit  which  must 
be  equal  to  his  regular  wages,  fixed  by  the  wage 
scale  committee  of  his  labor  union.  (Section  61 
and  Appendix  to  Section  79:  Rules  Concerning 
Unemployed  and  Payment  of  Subsidies,  Sections 
5  and  6.) 

Inasmuch  as  the  Soviet  Government  undertakes 
to  provide  every  unemployed  with  a  job  and  to  pay 
him  an  unemployment  benefit  if  no  employment 

50 


can  be  found  for  him,  the  government  requires  every 
worker  to  accept  employment  at  his  own  trade, 
provided  the  wages  and  terms  of  employment  con- 
form to  union  standards  (Section  24).  In  case, 
however,  no  employment  can  be  found  for  the 
worker  at  his  own  trade  and  work  of  a  lower 
grade  is  offered  to  him,  he  is  paid  out  of  the 
unemployment  fund  the  difference  between  the 
regular  scale  of  his  trade  and  the  wages  received 
by  him  at  his  temporary  employment. 

We  strongly  suspect  that  many  an  American 
union  man  might  be  inclined  to  submit  to  this  form 
of  "tyranny." 

2.  The  workers  are  classified  by  the  authorities 
and  the  wage  scale  is  provided  by  the  authorities 
for  every  class  of  work,  objects  Mr.  Redfield.  He 
seems  to  be  ignorant  of  the  fact  that  practically  all 
"factories"  (as  defined  by  the  United  States  Census 
Bureau)  have  been  nationalized  in  Soviet  Rus- 
sia. In  practice,  then,  this  rule  means  that  the 
government  of  Soviet  Russia  classifies  its  civil  ser- 
vants and  fixes  their  compensation.  Is  the  former 
Secretary  of  Commerce  unaware  of  the  fact  that 
the  employees  of  the  Government  Printing  Office  and 
the  Bureau  of  Engraving  and  Printing,  at  Washing- 
ton, D.  C.,  are  classified  by  Congress,  and  that 
their  salaries  and  wages  are  likewise  fixed  by  Con- 

Eress?  Has  he  forgotten  the  existence  of  the  War 
abor  Board,  whose  duty  it  was  to  adjust  wages 
in  private  factories  which  were  working  on  govern- 
ment contracts?  Were  not  the  wage  earners  in  these 
establishments  also  classified  with  the  approval  of 
the  War  Labor  Board?  Are  not  the  employees  of 
the  United  States  Steel  Corporation  classified  by 
the  administration  of  the  corporation?  It  was  re- 

51 


ported  in  the  public  press  that  Mr.  Gary  took  ex- 
ception to  the  workers'  claim  of  a  voice  in  the 
fixing  of  their  wages. 

Let  us  see,  next,  how  wage  scales  are  fixed  in 
Soviet  Russia.  Under  Sections  8  and  9  of  the  Code 
of  Labor  Laws  the  rules  governing  wages  and  con- 
ditions of  employment  in  all  establishments, 
whether  public  or  private,  are  framed  by  the  trade 
unions  and  approved  by  the  People's  Commissariat 
of  Labor,  which  is  the  Russian  equivalent  of  the 
American  Department  of  Labor.  "In  cases  where 
it  is  impossible  to  arrive  at  an  understanding  with 
the  directors  or  owners  of  establishments"  the 
wage  scales  are  drawn  up  by  the  trade  unions  and 
submitted  for  approval  to  the  People's  Commissariat 
of  Labor.  It  is  a  matter  of  public  knowledge  that 
the  spokesmen  for  the  American  employing  class 
have  only  too  frequently  refused  to  confer  with 
representatives  of  labor  unions  as  to  terms  of  em- 
ployment. In  Soviet  Russia  if  the  directors  or 
owners  of  industrial  establishments  fail  to  come 
to  terms  with  the  union  of  their  employees  the  con- 
troversy is  decided  by  the  Department  of  Labor  of 
the  Soviet  Government,  which  is  chosen  by  the 
workers  and  the  farmers. 

3.  Mr.  Redfield  claims  that  under  the  Soviet  code 
of  laws  the  worker  may  change  from  one 
job  to  another  only  by  the  express  permission  of 
the  labor  authorities.  The  worker  is  not  per- 
mitted to  quit  work  until  his  resignation  is  ac- 
cepted. If  he  desires  to  quit  his  job  the  reasons 
for  his  resignation  must  be  passed  upon  by  the 
shop  committee  of  the  workers.  If  the  shop  com- 
mittee, upon  investigation,  finds  the  resignation  un- 
justified the  worker  must  remain  at  work,  but 

52 


he  may  appeal  from  the  decision  of  the  shop  com- 
mittee to  his  trade  union.  The  penalty  provided 
for  disobedience  of  this  rule  is  forfeiture  of  un- 
employed benefits  for  one  week.  (Section  51,  52, 
and  53.) 

There  is  nothing  in  the  rules  to  prevent  him 
after  that  from  registering  with  the  Bureau  of 
Labor  Distribution  which  must  provide  him  with 
another  job. 

It  is  needless  to  deny  that  as  an  abstract  proposi- 
tion these  rules  imply  a  curtailment  of  "the  liberty 
and  the  right  of  the  individual,"  as  Mr.  Redfield 
puts  it.  To  be  sure,  in  capitalistic  countries  the 
wage  earner  is  at  liberty  to  quit  work  at  pleasure. 
He  does  it,  however,  at  the  peril  of  being  forced 
to  starve,  to  beg,  or  to  steal.  On  the  contrary,  in 
Soviet  Russia  every  worker  who  is  out  of  a  job 
is  entitled  to  draw  from  the  public  treasury  his 
regular  wages  until  the  government  supplies  him 
with  another  job.  Is  it  not  reasonable  for  the 
government,  under  such  circumstances,  to  have  a 
say  as  to  whether  the  worker  should  quit  his 
employment?  The  government  exercises  this  power 
of  supervision  by  delegating  it  to  the  shop-mates 
of  the  worker.  Could  Mr.  Redfield  suggest  any 
arrangement  that  would  be  more  favorable  to  the 
worker? 

Suppose  on  the  other  hand  every  worker  were 
at  liberty  to  quit  his  job  at  pleasure  and  draw 
upon  the  public  treasury  while  he  is  out  of  a  job? 
Would  that  not  be  a  temptation  for  many  a  man 
to  loaf  at  public  expense? 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind,  moreover,  that  this 
theoretical  curtailment  of  the  worker's  right  to  quit 
his  job  at  pleasure  is  compensated  by  the  abolition 

53 


of  the  employer's  right  to  "fire"  the  worker  at 
pleasure.  Under  Section  46  a  worker  may  be  dis- 
charged (1)  in  case  of  complete  or  partial  liquida- 
tions of  the  enterprise,  or  of  cancellation  of  cer- 
tain orders,  (2)  in  case  of  suspension  of  work  for 
more  than  a  month,  (3)  in  case  of  evident  unfitness 
of  the  worker  for  work.  In  all  these  cases  the 
worker  must  be  given  two  weeks'  notice.  (Section 
47.) 

The  discharge  of  a  workman  for  "evident  unfit- 
ness"  requires  the  approval  of  his  trade  union, 
and  he  may  appeal  from  the  order  for  his  dis- 
charge to  the  local  Bureau  of  Labor.  Should  the 
final  decision  be  unfavorable  to  the  worker  he  is 
entered  on  the  lists  of  unemployed  by  the  Division 
of  Labor  Distribution,  which  must  furnish 
him  with  another  job  or  pay  him  the  regular  un- 
employed benefit,  (Section  47),  which,  as  will  be 
remembered  is  equal  to  his  wages. 

The  President  of  the  American-Russian  Chamber 
of  Commerce  is  joined  in  his  abhorrence  of  com- 
pulsory labor  in  Soviet  Russia  by  the  venerable 
President  of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor. 
We  have  it,  however,  on  the  authority  of  Mr.  Lin- 
coln Eyre,  special  correspondent  of  the  New  York 
World,  in  its  issue  of  March  13,  that  the  laws  gov- 
erning compulsory  labor  "originated  with  the  un- 
ions" which  according  to  his  testimony,  have  been 
empowered  to  regulate  in  concert  with  the  Labor 
Commissariat,  all  wage  scales,  working  hours,  and 
other  matters  relating  to  employment." 

Final  decision  in  all  these  matters,  says  Mr. 
Eyre,  is  vested  in  the  government.  "In  practice, 
however,  it  is  highly  improbable  that  the  Soviet 
administration  would  deny  any  of  the  powerful 

54 


unions'  demands  unless  they  were  fantastically  ex- 
orbitant." 

4.  Mr.  Redfield  is  grieved  over  the  fact  that 
in  Soviet  Russia  a  worker  is  not  allowed  to 
work  for  pay  during  his  leave  of  absence,  (Sec- 
tions 106  and  107.)  The  Soviet  laws  assure  to 
every  worker  one  month's  vacation  in  every 
year,  provided  that  all  time  which  he  was  unem- 
ployed and  drawing  his  regular  wage  in  the  form 
of  unemployed  benefits  is  charged  to  his  annual 
leave.  If  he  were  permitted  to  engage  in  work 
for  pay  during  his  vacation  he  would,  in  effect,  be 
drawing  double  pay.  A  former  Secretary  of  Com- 
merce might  be  expected  to  know  that  under  the 
departmental  rules  obtaining  in  Washington,  D.  C., 
no  government  employee  is  permitted  to  hold  two 
positions  and  draw  two  salaries  at  the  same  time, 
even  though  he  may  do  the  work  of  one  during 
the  time  of  his  annual  leave.  Thus  the  Soviet 
Government  has  merely  introduced  in  its  institu- 
tions the  rule  which  has  been  enforced  in  the 
United  States  Government  so  long  "that  memory 
runneth  not  to  the  contrary." 

There  are  very  good  reasons  for  this  rule  in 
Soviet  Russia.  In  case  of  illness  the  government 
pays  to  the  worker  a  sick  benefit  which  is  equal 
to  his  regular  wages.  (Appendix  to  Section  5, 
rules  concerning  payment  of  sick  benefits  subsi- 
dies to  wage  earners  during  illness,  Section  1,  2 
and  3).  In  order  that  the  worker  may  preserve 
his  vitality  the  Soviet  Government  grants  him  a 
month's  leave  so  that  he  may  rest  during  that  time. 
It  is  quite  proper  for  the  government  to  expect 
that  the  worker  shall  avail  himself  of  that  rest. 
Moreover,  inasmuch  as  the  government  must  pro- 

55 


vide  every  able-bodied  person  with  work  or  pay 
him  an  unemployed  benefit,  it  would  be  unbusiness- 
like to  permit  one  worker  to  draw  double  pay 
while  others  may  have  to  be  put  on  the  list  of  the 
unemployed  and  draw  unemployed  benefits. 

5.  Last  but  not  least  is  that  labor  booklet  "which 
is  like  a  passport,"  in  which  must  be  entered  "every 
detail  of  his  (the  worker's)  life  and  activity." 

Reference  to  the  rules  concerning  labor  booklets. 
(Appendix  to  Section  80) ,  shows  that  the  entries  in 
the  booklets  are  confined  to  the  following  items: 

1.  Name  and  age  of  the  worker. 

2.  Name  and  address  of  his  trade  union. 

3.  The  occupational  group  to  which  he  has  been 
assigned  by  the  wage  scale  committee  of  his  union. 

4.  The  work  performed  by  him, — whether  paid 
by  the  time   or   by  piece,   as   well   as   over-time, 
and   all  payments  received  by  him  as  wages,  or 
unemployed  or  sick  benefits. 

5.  The  time  taken  by  him  on  account  of  his  an- 
nual leave,  as  well  as  his  sick  leave. 

6.  All  fines  imposed  upon  him. 

These  are  all  the  "details  of  his  life  and  activity" 
that  may  be  entered  in  his  labor  booklet.  The 
President  of  the  American-Russian  Chamber  of 
Commerce  will  probably  be  surprised  to  learn  that 
the  above  rules  concerning  labor  booklets  are  mere- 
ly a  reenactment,  with  improvements,  of  the  Im- 
perial law  on  the  subject.  The  Industrial  Code 
which  is  a  portion  of  Vol.  II,  Part  2,  of  the  Com- 
piled Statutes  of  the  Russian  Empire,  contain  pro- 
visions relating  to  labor  booklets  in  Sections  92, 
136,  137  and  following.  Section  137  reads  as 
follows : 

"In  the  booklet  of  account  must  be  entered,  (1) 

56 


the  name,  patronymic,  and  surname  of  the  worker; 
(2)  the  term  of  employment  and  the  term  of  his 
passport;  (3)  the  amount  of  wages,  specifying  the 
methods  of  their  computation  and  term  of  pay- 
ment; (4)  the  amount  of  rent  for  use  by  the 
worker  of  the  dwellings,  bath,  etc.,  provided  by  the 
factory  or  mill;  (5)  other  terms  of  employment 
which  the  contracting  parties  may  deem  necessary 
to  enter  in  a  booklet;  (6)  entries  of  the  amounts 
earned,  with  a  statement  of  the  amount  of  fines 
imposed  upon  the  worker,  and  the  cause  thereof; 
(7)  an  extract  from  the  laws  and  rules  of  internal 
administration,  defining  the  rights,  duties,  and  re- 
sponsibilities of  the  workers." 

The  plain  object  of  the  labor  booklet  is  to 
furnish  the  worker,  in  case  of  dispute,  with  evi- 
dence of  the  work  performed  and  pay  received  by 
him.  Every  one  familiar  with  the  labor  situation 
in  the  United  States  knows  that  the  calendars  of  the 
inferior  courts  in  all  industrial  centers  are  crowded 
with  wage  cases.  Quite  frequently  the  worker  is 
unable  to  prove  his  claim  "by  preponderance  of 
evidence."  In  the  court  the  employer's  word  is  as 
good  as  the  wage  earner's  word.  The  Russian  law 
has  made  provisions  for  it,  so  as  to  avoid  endless 
litigation. 


57 


Supplement 

THE  PROTECTION  OF  LABOR  IN 
SOVIET  RUSSIA 

By  S.  KAPLUN 
of  the  COMMISSARIAT  OF  LABOR 


PROTECTION  OF  LABOR  IN  SOVIET  RUSSIA. 

By  S.  KAPLUN,  of  the  Commissariat  of  Labor. 

1.     Protection  of  Labor  in  Soviet  Russia  before 
the  establishment  of  the  Soviet  Governmennt. 

'TpHE  Soviet  Government,  the  government  of  the 
•"-     workers  and  the  poorest  peasants,  was  the  first 
seriously  to  raise  in  Russia  the  question  of  social 
protection  of  labor. 

Under  the  Czarist  Government,  which  was  the 
embodiment  of  the  whip  and  the  fist,  all  the  instruc- 
tions and  wishes  of  the  landlord  class  and  big  ma- 
nufacturers were  faithfully  carried  out.  Naturally 
enough,  factory  legislation  was  in  a  more  backward 
state  than  in  any  other  part  of  the  world.  In  ac- 
cordance with  the  Law  of  1897,  the  working  day 
officially  was  11%  hours,  while  in  reality  the  work- 
man was  compelled  to  work  far  longer  than  that; 
this  was  due  to  the  great  amount  of  overtime — 
compulsory  and  "uncompulsory,"  the  latter  only  on 
paper; — in  actual  life  extreme  destitution  and  the 
complete  absence  of  rights  of  the  workers  com- 
pelled them  fully  to  submit  to  all  the  proposals  of 
the  manufacturers.  Children  were  permitted  to  go 
to  work  even  at  the  age  of  12;  according  to  the 
law  of  1882  youngsters  up  to  the  age  of  15  were 
forbidden  to  be  engaged  at  night  work,  whilst  dur- 
ing the  day  their  labor  was  not  to  exceed  8  hours. 

Even  these  inadequate  laws,  however,  soon  ap- 
peared to  be  too  great  a  compromise  in  the  eyes  of 

61 


the  "European  gendarme,"  and  subsequently  Czar- 
ism  gave  to  the  manufacturers  a  great  number  of 
loopholes  and  means  to  evade  the  law.  The  first 
step  in  this  direction  was  the  permission  of  un- 
interrupted 6  hour  work  instead  of  the  former  4 
hour  work  for  children.  When  working  two  shifts 
children  were  allowed  to  be  engaged  for  9  hours 
a  day  during  the  two  shifts  instead  of  the  maximum 
8  hour  working  day  according  to  the  law  of  1882. 
Night  work  was  permitted  for  children  in  the  glass 
industry  although  from  a  hygienic  point  of  view 
this  is  one  of  the  most  harmful  trades;  yet  this 
night  work  was  permitted  owing  to  the  fact  that 
it  was  demanded  by  the  interests  of  the  industrial 
magnates.  Further,  the  factory  inspection  was 
given  the  right  to  permit  Sunday  and  holiday  work 
for  children.  Finally,  night  work,  which  was 
generally  prohibited  by  law  to  children  and  women 
could  be  sanctioned  by  the  factory  and  works 
managements,  or  by  the  governor  of  the  gubernia, 
in  all  cases  where  such  children  were  engaged  in 
work  together  with  their  parents,  that  is  to  say, 
this  night  work  became  a  general  rule. 

With  regards  to  the  protection  of  women  labor, 
nothing  at  all  was  undertaken.  No  care  whatso- 
ever was  taken  of  the  sanitary  and  hygienic  state 
of  factories  or  workshops.  In  the  sphere  of 
technical  safety  and  safeguards  from  dangerous 
machines,  the  government  acted  very  timidly,  almost 
refraining  from  establishing  any  important  rules  or 
obligatory  regulations. 

Little  can  be  said  of  the  rights  of  the  workers. 
Absolute  rule  of  the  employer,  endless  fines  and 
impositions,  dismissals  of  workers  without  serious 
reason,  constant  interference  of  the  police,  and  arm- 

62 


ed  force  at  the  first  sign  of  agitation  of  the  work- 
ers,— such  is  the  well  remembered  picture  of 
Russian  factory  life.  Equally  little  was  done  in 
the  sphere  of  social  maintenance  of  the  workers  in 
the  event  of  loss  of  livelihood.  Social  insurance, 
which  developed  by  the  legislation  of  1912,  provid- 
ed only  for  cases  of  sickness  and  accidents.  But 
in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  workers  were  heavily 
taxed  for  state  insurance,  unemployable  men  were 
given  a  most  beggarly  assistance.  And  even  here 
insurance  did  not  by  any  means  embrace  all  the 
workers. 

Especially  important  was  the  character  of  those 
organs  which  were  charged  with  the  enforcement 
of  the  laws  for  the  protection  of  labor.  The  direct 
agents  of  supervision  were  the  factory  inspectors — 
state  officials  who  submissively  carried  out  all  the 
instructions  of  capital. 

In  accordance  with  the  laws,  instructions,  and 
circulars,  they  were  to  work  in  the  closest  possible 
collaboration  with  the  police  and  were  even  direct- 
ly subordinated  to  the  governor  of  the  gubernia 
in  question.  One  of  their  principal  tasks  was  to 
prevent  strikes  and  fight  every  strike  that  occurred. 
The  leading  local  organ  of  factory  supervision  was 
the  so-called  gubernia  board  of  administration  for 
factories  and  mines.  The  composition  of  the 
board  is  quite  characteristic:  the  governor  presides 
and  the  entire  upper  local  hierarchy  are  mem- 
bers of  this  board:  the  vice-governor,  the  public 
prosecutor,  the  chief  of  police,  the  chief  factory 
inspector,  and  the  district  engineer.  To  endow 
the  constellation  with  greater  authority,  another 
element  interested  in  protection  of  labor  was 
introduced,  namely:  four  members  of  the  local 

63 


manufacturers  and  factory  proprietors.  It  is 
obvious,  therefore,  that  under  Czarism  protection 
of  labor  was  actually  turned  into  protection  of 
capital  against  labor. 

When  Russian  Czarism  gave  place  to  that  miser- 
able miscarriage — the  Coalition  Government,  re- 
presenting a  mixture  of  the  big  industrial  bour- 
geoisie with  the  anaemic  middle  class  personified 
by  the  Socialist-Revolutionaries  and  the  Menshe- 
viks,  protection  of  labor  ceased  to  be  a  scarecrow. 
But  it  is  plain  enough  that  the  vacillating  Menshe- 
vik  opportunist  Ministry  of  Labor,  ever  apprehen- 
sive of  encroaching  upon  the  interests  of  the  bour- 
geoisie, was  not  capable  of  serious  work  in  this 
sphere.  The  result  of  this  is  that  for  the  8  months 
from  February  to  Oct.  1917,  only  pitiful  attempts 
were  made  with  regard  to  protection  of  labor,  the 
most  characteristic  of  which  is  the  project  of 
"labor  inspection"  consisting  in  the  appointment 
of  higher  specialists  and  of  workers  who  were  to 
act  only  in  the  capacity  of  "assistants."  In  every 
other  respect  the  old  Czarist  laws  remained  in- 
violate, and  in  addition  to  this,  constant  deviation 
was  allowed  in  the  interests  of  the  bourgeoisie  upon 
the  first  demand  of  the  kings  of  "national"  capital. 


64 


//.     The  Soviet  Government  and  Protection  of 
Labor. 

The  position  radically  changed  when  the  revo- 
lutionary proletariat  overthrew  the  political,  and 
what  is  still  more  important,  the  economic  domi- 
nation of  the  propertied  classes,  and  in  alliance  with 
the  poorest  part  of  the  peasantry  took  the  power 
into  its  hands.  Protection  of  labor  instantly  be- 
came one  of  the  most  important  and  serious  aspects 
of  Soviet  work.  The  importance  that  was  attached 
to  protection  of  labor  by  the  Soviet  Government 
can  be  judged  from  the  fact  that  on  the  29th  of 
October,  1917.*  four  days  after  the  proclamation 
of  proletarian  dictatorship,  a  decree  was  published 
on  "the  length  and  distribution  of  working  time;" 
this  decree  instantly  provided  an  introductory  code 
of  laws  for  the  protection  of  labor,  embodying  all 
the  old  revolutionary  demands  of  the  working  class, 
such  as  the  eight  hour  working  day,  a  number  of 
measures  in  the  field  of  protection  of  child  and 
woman  labor,  and  so  forth. 

Owing  to  the  fact  that  our  industry  has  been  al- 
most entirely  nationalized  by  this  time,  and  is 
administered  by  organs  of  proletarian  dictatorship 
our  protection  of  labor  now  takes  place,  not  as 
formerly,  in  a  struggle  against  the  big  employers, 
but  on  the  contrary,  in  complete  agreement  and 
in  close  collaboration  with  the  industrial  organs. 


*  November  11,  1917.    New  Style. 
65 


Our  real  achievements  in  protection  of  labor 
increase  in  proportion  to  the  growth  of  the  power 
of  the  Soviet  Government  aand  the  improvement  of 
its  international,  political  and  economic  position. 
The  Soviet  Government's  entire  work  on  labor 
protection  rests  on  the  very  effective  creative 
activity  of  the  masses  of  the  workers.  For  this 
reason  our  state  organs  of  labor  protection  are 
established  by  the  Trade  Unions,  and  are  elected 
by  the  Trade  Union  amalgamations,  and  their 
activity  is  carried  on  in  close  contact  with  the  Trade 
Unions.  Finally,  labor  protection  in  Russia 
embraces  without  exception  all  wage  workers, 
contrary  to  the  Western  countries.  Our  labor  pro- 
tection laws  are  equally  applied  to  large  works  and 
factories,  as  well  as  to  crafts,  to  home  industries, 
to  transport  and  agricultural  laborers,  to  clerks, 
shop  assistants  and  domestic  servants. 

///.     Working  Hours 

The  laws  passed  as  early  as  November,  1917, 
have  legislated  an  8-hour  working  day,  a  measure 
in  its  time  carefully  avoided  by  the  compromising 
government  of  Kerensky.  Subsequently  this  law 
was  confirmed  in  the  "Code  of  Labor  Laws"  issued 
on  the  10th  of  December  1918.  Overtime  is  allow- 
ed only  as  an  exception,  in  cases  where  production 
is  of  extreme  social  importance  and  when  it  is  not 
possible  correspondingly  to  increase  the  number  of 
workers  or  to  arrange  the  work  in  two  or  three 
shifts.  In  all  such  cases  the  sanction  is  required 
of  the  trade  unions  for  tax  on  all  overtime,  in  ad- 
dition to  which  the  confirmation  of  the  inspector 
of  labor  is  also  required.  All  overtime  work  is 

66 


paid  for  as  time  and  a  half.  In  accordance  with 
the  Code  of  Labor  laws  the  standard  of  night  work 
for  every  worker  is  established  as  seven  hours 
instead  of  eight,  but  is  paid  for  as  eight  hours. 

But  not  all  workers  work  eight  hours.  All 
mental  and  sedentary  workers,  in  view  of  the  mental 
strain  incurred,  have  a  6  hour  working  day.  In 
exceptionally  difficult  or  harmful  work,  such  as 
tobacco  manufacture,  gas  works,  certain  chemical 
works,  and  so  forth,  the  working  day  is  reduced  to 
7  and  even  to  6  hours  a  day. 

During  the  working  day  an  interval  for  dinner  is 
established  at  every  factory,  lasting  from  30  mi- 
nutes to  2  hours,  during  which  the  worker  can  re- 
cuperate to  some  extent.  Every  worker  is  entitled 
to  a  weekly  rest  which  is  to  consist  of  42  hours  con- 
tinuous and  uninterrupted.  Therefore  on  the  eve 
of  all  holidays  factories  are  closed  two  hours  be- 
fore the  usual  time.  In  all  work  that  cannot  be 
stopped  even  for  a  single  day  (as  in  the  case  of 
nurses,  engine-drivers,  tramways,  electric  or  gas 
workers,  etc.),  the  workers  are  afforded  a  day's 
rest  some  other  day  of  the  week  instead  of  the 
regular  holiday. 

Finally,  in  Russia  for  the  first  time  in  the  history 
of  industry,  obligatory  leave  with  the  preservation 
of  the  full  wage  or  salary  has  been  introduced  for 
all  workers  and  employees.  Every  worker  who  has 
been  employed  either  in  one  or  several  places  for 
six  continuous  months  is  entitled,  according  to  the 
"Code  of  Labor  Laws"  to  a  fortnight's  leave,  those 
who  have  worked  for  a  year  to  a  month's  leave.  In 
view  of  the  great  economic  crisis,  onjy  a  fortnight's 
leave  is  permitted  at  the  present  time,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  all  workers  engaged  in  harmful  produc- 

67 


tion,  as  well  as  children,  all  of  whom  are  given  an 
additional  fortnight's  leave. 

IV.     Protection  of  Female  Labor 

One  of  the  most  important  aspects  of  the  acti- 
vity of  labor  protection  is  the  protection  of  women, 
which  is  an  essential  condition  for  the  health  of 
the  children  of  the  proletariat.  In  accordance  with 
the  Code  of  Labor  Laws,  all  underground,  night  and 
overtime  work  for  women  in  Russia  is  forbidden. 

Particular  attention  is  paid  to  pregnant  women. 
Expectant  mothers  engaged  in  physical  labor  are 
liberated  3  weeks  prior  to  confinement.  Women 
engaged  in  mental  labor,  which  has  a  smaller 
influence  than  physical  labor,  upon  the  child,  dur- 
ing the  mother's  period  of  pregnancy,  are  liberated 
from  their  work  6  weeks  prior  to  confinement. 
Every  woman  worker  or  employee  is  fully  paid 
during  the  whole  period  of  leave.  Having  given 
birth,  all  women  are  freed  from  work  for  another 
period  of  8  weeks  in  the  case  of  physical  workers 
or  6  weeks  in  the  case  of  mental  workers,  with  full 

pay- 
To  give  the  mother  an  opportunity  herself  to 
feed  the  child,  which  is  of  great  importance  for  its 
health  and  development,  a  half  hour's  leave  after 
every  three  hours  of  work  is  granted  to  every  wo- 
man who  feeds  her  child  by  breast.  Wherever 
possible  nurseries  are  established  at  all  large  enter- 
prises, where  the  mother  is  able  to  leave  her  child 
under  proper  care  during  her  working  hours  and 
feed  it  during  the  intervals.  In  a  number  of  towns 
special  "Mother  and  Child"  houses  have  been 
established  where  the  woman  worker  can  pass  the 
last  months  of  her  pregnancy  as  well  as  the  period 

68 


of  lactation  and  can  learn  the  art  of  rearing  her 
child.  In  addition  to  this,  in  order  to  raise  the 
general  level  of  the  life  of  the  mother  who  feeds 
her  child  by  breast,  every  woman  worker  is  grant- 
ed an  additional  subsidy  during  the  period  of  lacta- 
tion; in  Moscow  this  amounts  to  600  roubles  per 
month.  Immediately  after  having  given  birth,  a 
special  grant  is  made  to  the  extent  of  a  fortnight's 
minimum  pay  (720  roubles  for  Moscow)  for  the 
baby's  clothes  and  all  other  necessaries. 

All  this  greatly  aids  in  preserving  the  health  of 
the  woman  worker  and  her  capacity  to  produce 
healthy  normal  offspring  for  the  proletariat,  which 
forms  an  essential  basis  of  the  building  of  the 
future  of  the  victorious  class. 


69 


V.     Child  Labor 

In  all  countries  the  protection  of  labor  and  the 
protection  of  children  from  the  heartless  exploita- 
tion of  capital  met  insurmountable  obstacles  in  the 
shape  of  private  profits.  Only  the  Soviet  Govern- 
ment has  set  itself  to  the  task  of  actually  saving 
the  young  proletarian  generation  from  premature 
degeneration,  the  effect  produced  by  hard  daily 
work  upon  the  young  and  still  weak  organisms. 

According  to  our  laws  children  under  the  age  of 
16  are  not  allowed  to  engage  in  any  work.  In 
special  cases  children  of  14-16  may  be  given 
work,  only  with  the  permission  of  the  Labor 
Inspector  and  only  in  such  cases  where  there  is  acute 
material  need  and  where  it  is  impossible  to  establish 
them  in  schools,  homes  and  other  State  institutions. 
For  all  young  children  who  have  not  reached  the 
age  of  16,  and  who  are  already  working  in  factories, 
etc.  a  four-hour  working  day  is  established.  Minors 
(between  the  ages  of  16  and  18)  do  not  work  long- 
er than  six  hours  a  day.  All  minors  who  have 
not  reached  the  age  of  18  are  forbidden  overtime, 
night  work  and  underground  work. 

Children  of  tender  age  (up  to  14  years  of  age) 
who  are  found  working  in  any  enterprise  are 
gradually  withdrawn  from  the  work;  every  care 
being  taken  that  these  children  are  not  left  idle  or 
without  means  of  existence  and  thus  do  not  fall 
into  the  hands  of  street  speculation.  They  are 

70 


withdrawn  from  work  only  when  it  becomes  possible 
to  establish  them  in  schools,  in  children's  com- 
munes, or  other  educational  institutions.  At  the 
same  time,  wherever  a  child  gave  financial 
assistance  to  its  family,  the  latter  is  correspondingly 
recompensed.  In  the  withdrawing  of  children  from 
work  as  well  as  in  protection  of  child  labor,  the 
League  of  Youth  and  the  trade  unions  are  partici- 
pating. 

Special  care  is  also  taken  that  children  are  not 
engaged  in  harmful,  dangerous  or  hard  work  and 
that  their  work  should  at  the  same  time  serve  as 
a  school  for  their  future  occupations.  The  reduced 
working  day  for  children  and  minors  is  paid  fully 
according  to  the  tariff  scale. 


71 


VI.     Sanitary  and  Technical  Protection  of  Labor. 

The  problem  of  protection  of  labor  is  not  only 
the  struggle  against  the  degeneration  of  the  pro- 
letariat by  establishing,  by  means  of  legislation, 
conditions  of  labor,  protection  against  overwork, 
and  especially  against  undue  strain  and  exhaustion 
of  its  weaker  elements,  women  and  children,  but 
also  to  effect  real  improvements  and  changes  in  the 
general  conditions  in  which  the  workman  lives. 
With  this  object  in  view  special  attention  is  paid 
to  the  sanitary  and  hygienic  construction  of  enter- 
prises, to  the  housing  problem,  hospitals,  schools, 
nurseries  and  so  forth.  Measures  are  also  taken 
to  prevent  accidents,  by  means  of  a  proper 
construction  of  industrial  buildings,  machinery 
safeguards,  inspection  of  steam  boilers,  lifts,  and  so 
forth. 

It  is  of  course  impossible  immediately  to  achieve 
important  results  in  this  sphere.  The  old  form 
of  production,  which  was  mainly  concerned  with 
the  profit  of  the  owners,  took  no  care  whatsoever  of 
the  health  of  the  workers.  As  a  result  of  this  we 
are  left  with  a  legacy  from  the  bourgeoisie  of  close, 
filthy,  dark  and  technically  badly  equipped  enter- 
prises, in  which  the  worker  daily  ruins  his  health 
and  which  have  acquired  the  appropriate  name  of 
"exhausters."  The  Soviet  Government  has  com- 
menced a  serious  battle  against  dust,  high  tempe- 
rature, poisonous  fumes  and  gases  and  other  in- 
dustrial evils.  A  number  of  compulsory  regula- 

72 


tions  of  a  sanitary  and  technical  character,  apply- 
ing to  all  enterprises,  as  well  as  to  individual 
forms  of  production,  have  been  established.  The 
organs  of  Inspection  of  Technical  and  Sanitary 
conditions  of  labor  take  all  measures  for  every 
possible  improvement  as  to  safety,  industrial 
hygiene  and  sanitation. 

The  housing  conditions  of  the  working  class  are 
closely  connected  with  their  conditions  of  labor, 
and  therefore  the  organs  of  the  Protection  of  Labor 
pay  particular  attention  to  the  housing  question. 
Detailed  regulations  concerning  the  construction 
and  furnishing,  etc.,  of  the  houses  in  connection 
with  the  factories  and  works  are  issued  by  the 
People's  Commissariat  of  Labor.  This  Commis- 
sariat has  also  drawn  up  model  plans  of  houses 
and  separate  workers'  dwellings,  as  well  as  of  whole 
worker's  settlements  where  the  demands  of  hygiene 
fully  coincide  with  comfort  and  economy.  In 
the  various  localities  every  measure  is  taken  to 
improve  the  sanitary  conditions  of  the  workers' 
dwellings  and  to  reduce  the  prevailing  lack  of 
room.  The  entire  working  class  is  interested  in 
taking  part  in  the  improvement  of  housing  condi- 
tions, furnishing,  etc.,  through  their  factory  com- 
mittees. An  extensive  sanitary  and  educational 
activity  is  carried  on  among  them  for  this  purpose. 


73 


VII.     Other  Questions  of  Protection  of  Labor. 

The  above  questions  exhaust  by  no  means  the 
many-sided  legislative  activity  of  the  Protection  of 
Labor  organs  in  Soviet  Russia:  it  is  impossible  to 
deal  with  them  fully  in  a  small  pamphlet.  I  will 
point  out  in  brief  the  following  aspects  of  it.  At 
present  every  worker  engaged  in  physical  labor  is 
supplied  free  of  charge  with  working  clothing  made 
according  to  the  requirements  of  labor  protection. 
In  addition  to  these,  in  all  factories  which  expose 
workers  to  a  danger  of  poisoning,  or  where  the 
workers  are  subject  to  dampness  or  filth,  etc.,  special 
protective  clothing  is  supplied.  The  standard  and 
kind  of  such  clothing  and  footwear,  as  well  as  the 
category  of  workers  to  be  supplied,  is  defined  by 
the  People's  Commissariat  of  Labor.  All  working 
men  and  women  engaged  in  harmful  trades  are 
supplied  with  soap,  free  of  charge,  in  spite  of  the 
acute  shortage  of  soap  in  the  Soviet  Republic. 

Protection  of  labor  includes  not  only  persons  em- 
ployed in  the  ordinary  way  but  also  those  who  are 
subject  to  labor  service.  The  Soviet  Government 
as  a  proletarian  dictatorship  which  is  based  on 
labor  makes  an  effort  to  assure  normal  and  healthy 
conditions  for  the  labor  of  those  who  have  been 
mobilized  for  work.  Special  regulations  regarding 
the  application  of  the  Code  of  Laws  to  labor  service 
have  been  drawn  up,  in  connection  with  which  there 
have  also  been  established  special  commissions  for 
the  proper  utilization  of  labor.  The  question  has 

74 


now  been  put  forward  regarding  the  establishment 
of  special  organs  of  the  protection  of  labor  in 
connection  with  the  labor  armies.  Notwithstand- 
ing the  difficult  conditions  of  the  present  moment, 
the  People's  Commissariat  of  Labor  is  carrying  on 
scientific  investigation  of  harmful  trades.  In  accord- 
ance with  the  fundamental  principles  of  the  Soviet 
Government  the  working  masses  themselves  are 
attracted  to  this  work.  The  Trade  Unions  in  con- 
junction with  doctors  and  engineers  study  in  detail 
the  circumstances  and  conditions  of  work  of  every 
individual  trade.  At  the  present  time  the  Depart- 
ment of  Protection  of  Labor  of  the  Labor  Commis- 
sariat is  organizing  a  special  institute  for  the  study 
of  labor;  a  number  of  experimental  laboratories, 
clinics  for  trade  diseases  and  cabinets  for  medical 
statistics  have  been  established.  This  Institute  is 
to  serve  as  the  first  scientific  establishment  in  Rus- 
sia in  connection  with  questions  of  the  protection  of 
labor,  after  the  type  of  similar  institutions  in  the 
largest  centres  of  Western  Europe  and  America. 
The  People's  Commissariat  of  Labor  has,  at  the 
same  time,  established  an  experimental  study  of 
the  questions  of  a  hygienic  labor  efficiency.  Fully 
recognizing  the  necessity  of  a  scientific  organization 
of  production,  Soviet  Russia  cannot,  however, 
completely  accept  the  system  of  Taylor  and  other 
American  engineers,  who  fail  to  take  into  considera- 
tion the  interests  and  the  health  of  the  workers. 
The  problem  of  the  hygienic  efficiency  of  labor  is 
to  unite  all  the  scientifically  correct  and  rational 
foundations  of  the  Taylor  system  with  the  needs  of 
physiology  and  labor  hygiene. 

It  is  necessary  to  mention  the  extensive  cultural 
and  educational   work  which  is  being  carried   on 

75 


directly  at  the  factories  and  works,  and  in  the  very 
thick  of  the  working  masses,  by  the  organs  of  labor 
protection.  One  of  the  basic  principles  of  our  work 
is  the  effort  to  make  of  every  workman,  even  of 
the  most  backward,  an  intelligent  factor  for  his 
own  labor  protection.  To  this  end  the  Inspectors 
of  Labor  and  other  workers  in  the  sphere  of  the 
protection  of  labor  continuously  arrange  lectures 
and  reports  on  various  subjects  of  labor  legislation, 
of  the  history  of  the  protection  of  labor,  of  hygiene, 
sanitation  and  safety. 


76 


VIII.     Inspection  of  Labor. 

One  of  the  chief  questions  of  the  organization 
of  labor  protection  with  which  the  Soviet  Govern- 
ment was  faced,  is  the  establishment  of  an  insti- 
tution for  the  supervision  of  the  proper  realization 
of  labor  protection  laws.  The  revolutionary  ele- 
ments of  the  proletariat  of  all  countries  have  always 
put  forward  the  demand  that  labor  inspection 
should  be  transferred  to  the  labor  organizations. 
But  even  the  so-called  "Revolutionary"  Government 
of  the  first  period  of  the  Russian  Revolution  did 
not  dare  to  take  this  measure.  Like  certain  West- 
ern European  countries,  it  considered  it  the  maxi- 
mum of  radicalism  to  admit  even  as  assistants  in 
this  inspection,  workers  who  enjoyed  no  authority 
or  rights.  These  assistants  had  no  right  to  be 
connected  with  any  labor  organization  and  their 
whole  business  was  to  represent  a  semi-actual  re- 
presentation of  the  proletariat  in  the  organization 
of  the  protection  of  labor.  Only  an  assistant  who 
had  passed  four  months  in  this  unenviable  role 
of  official  and  who  had  by  this  time  completely 
estranged  himself  from  the  masses  could  become 
an  inspector  of  labor. 

The  proletarian  revolution,  of  course,  instantly 
put  an  end  to  this  system  and  realized  the  old 
revolutionary  motto  of  elected  labor  inspection.  By 
the  decree  of  the  7th  of  May,  1918,  the  old  labor 
inspection,  hateful  to  the  Russian  working  class, 
was  demolished,  and  in  its  place  was  established  a 

77 


purely  proletarian  labor  inspection.  The  principal 
decree  was  furthermore  developed  and  supplement- 
ed with  a  number  of  orders,  instructions  and  cir- 
culars. 

Labor  inspectors  are  elected  at  labor  conferences 
of  representatives  of  trade  unions  and  of  factory 
and  works  committees  of  those  districts  in  which 
they  are  to  serve.  Only  where  the  convening  of 
such  conferences  is  impossible,  do  the  elections 
take  place  at  the  local  trade  union-  councils.  In 
this  way  the  closest  contact  between  the  labor  in- 
spectors and  the  working  masses  by  whom  they  are 
delegated  is  secured.  The  election  process  in  it- 
self is  of  the  greatest  educational  and  propaganda 
importance.  At  these  elections  working  masses  be- 
come acquainted  with  the  general  principles  and 
practice  of  the  protection  of  labor  in  Soviet  Rus- 
sia, as  well  as  with  the  decrees  and  instructions  in 
connection  with  labor  protection.  The  delegates 
visit  their  localities  and  make  reports  concerning 
the  conference,  and  in  this  manner  obtain  the  direct 
participation  of  the  masses  in  the  work  of  labor 
protection. 

Upon  his  election,  the  Inspector  of  Labor,  though 
directly  subordinated  to  the  Labor  Department 
works  at  the  same  time  in  close  contact  with  all 
the  local  trade  unions  and  also  carries  out  all  the 
instructions  of  the  local  council  of  trade  unions, 
which  is  empowered  to  withdraw  any  inspector  who 
may  turn  out  to  be  inefficient.  The  supervision  of 
the  labor  inspector  includes  all  the  workers  and 
employees  of  his  district,  independent  of  whether 
they  are  engaged  in  small  or  large  branches  of  in- 
dustry, in  private  or  state  factories,  in  civil,  mili- 
tary or  militarized  enterprises  or  institutions. 

78 


The  labor  inspector  makes  a  systematic  tour  of 
all  the  industrial  enterprises  and  institutions  of  his 
district,  which  he  is  authorized  freely  to  enter 
at  any  time  of  the  day  or  night,  as  well  as  to  visit 
any  place  where  work  is  carried  on,  as  well  as  every 
kind  of  building  in  any  way  connected  with  the 
workers,  such  as  dwelling  houses,  hospitals,  baths, 
kindergartens,  nurseries,  homes,  schools  and  so 
forth.  During  visits  to  the  various  enterprises  the 
administration  and  owners  of  such  are  bound  to 
afford  every  assistance  to  the  inspector  and  must 
not  refuse  to  give  explanations  on  the  plea  of  trade 
secrecy,  which  has  been  abolished  by  the  proletarian 
revolution,  along  with  the  other  secrets  and 
privileges  of  the  propertied  classes.  The  labor 
inspector  is  to  discover  all  the  deviations  from 
and  violations  of  the  rules  and  regulations,  whether 
with  regard  to  the  rights  of  the  workers  or  with 
regard  to  technical  and  sanitary  protection  of  labor. 
All  inspection  takes  place  in  conjunction  with  the 
representative  of  the  factory  or  works'  Committee 
or  other  analogous  committees.  If,  during  the 
inspection  a  careless  or  spiteful  attitude  on  the  part 
of  an  owner  or  administration  of  the  enterprise  in 
question,  is  observed  towards  the  interests  of  the 
life,  health  and  protection  of  labor  of  workers  and 
employees,  the  Labor  Inspector  takes  the  guilty 
party  before  the  court  or  imposes  a  fine  upon  the 
same  through  the  local  Labor  Department. 

According  to  the  decree,  the  Labor  Inspector 
should  not  only  carefully  supervise  the  enforcement 
of  existing  laws,  but  he  is  also  given  the  right  to 
take  all  necessary  measures  for  the  removal  of  any 
circumstance  which  may  be  a  menace  to  the  life 
and  health  of  the  workers,  even  though  such 

79 


measures  be  not  provided  for  by  the  law.  In 
special  cases  when  serious  defects  are  discovered, 
the  Inspector  of  Labor  has  wide  powers,  including 
that  of  stopping  machines  or  engines  or  looms,  or 
even  of  closing  down  certain  workshops  or  whole 
enterprises.  Generally  speaking,  the  Labor  Inspec- 
tor is  the  executive  factor  in  our  legislation,  adapt- 
ing all  our  regulations  and  decrees  to  the  actual 
conditions  and  local  peculiarities  of  a  given  district. 
With  the  consent  and  official  sanction  of  the  local 
trade  union  organizations,  the  inspectors  may  per- 
mit, in  the  event  of  extreme  necessity,  deviations 
from  the  existing  standard,  and  establish  the  order 
in  which  one  or  another  measure  which  cannot  be 
realized  in  its  entirety,  is  to  be  enforced. 

The  Labor  Inspectors  do  not  confine  their  activity 
to  visiting  enterprises  alone.  They  are  to  set  up 
inquiry  offices,  where  the  workers  are  given  all 
necessary  information  with  detailed  instructions  on 
all  questions  of  labor  and  social  welfare;  they  are 
to  accept  reports  and  complaints  concerning  viola- 
tions of  labor  protection  laws  and  to  direct  workers 
who  seek  information  to  the  respective  institutions. 

The  Labor  Inspectors  take  an  active  part  in  the 
activity  of  the  organs  of  public  economy,  public 
health,  food  supply,  public  education,  social  wel- 
fare, the  housing  questions,  and  so  forth ;  they  raise 
here  all  questions  in  any  way  connected  with  labor 
protection,  the  health  of  the  workers,  and  the  im- 
provement of  their  general  conditions  of  life,  and 
directly  participate  in  bringing  about  all  the 
measures  of  these  organs.  Furthermore,  the  Labor 
Inspectors  attract  to  the  work  of  labor  protection 
all  the  local  labor  organizations,  by  reading  papers 
on  their  activities,  at  the  trade  union  sessions,  at 

80 


the  general  meetings  of  individual  enterprises, 
among  the  women  workers,  among  the  working 
youth,  as  well  as  at  specially  convened  general 
labor  conferences.  In  addition  to  this,  the  Labor 
Inspectors  periodically  deliver  lectures  and  reports, 
and  supply  the  local  press  with  articles  on  the 
protection  of  labor. 


81 


IX.     Inspection  of  Labor  at  Large. 

In  every  country  of  the  world  there  are  a  number 
of  individual  gioups  of  the  proletariat  who  are  not 
subject  to  labor  protection  laws.  In  reality  in  such 
countries  the  law  includes  only  the  industrial  pro- 
letariat of  factories  and  works  which  is  best  orga- 
nized, most  class  conscious,  and  therefore  most 
dangerous  to  the  bourgeoisie.  At  the  same  time, 
there  is  everywhere  a  large  mass  of  disjointed,  un- 
organized, and  backward  workers  working  under 
bad  conditions,  with  whom  state  protection  of  labor 
in  capitalist  society  has  no  concern. 

In  Soviet  Russia  such  a  state  of  things  is  of 
course  inadmissible.  There  are  no  pariahs  in  our 
midst;  we  are  all  one  closely  connected  single  labor 
family.  General  inspection  of  labor,  usually  con- 
sisting of  the  skilled  workers  of  large  industrial 
industries,  cannot  embrace  all  the  small  home 
industries  and  disjointed  enterprises,  as  well  as 
those  forms  of  labor  the  conditions  of  which  are 
distinguished  by  certain  peculiarities. 

For  this  purpose  in  Russia  there  has  been 
established  a  special  Inspection.  These  Inspec- 
tors are  part  of  the  general  system  of  State 
Inspection  of  Labor,  but  at  the  same  time  serve 
the  needs  only  of  workers  of  individual  branches 
of  industry,  and  are  elected  directly  by  the  corres- 
ponding trade  unions.  In  this  manner  the  follow- 
ing special  non-districts  inspections  have  been  or- 
ganized: of  the  railway  and  water  transport  work- 

82 


ers,  builders,  employees  of  the  post  and  telegraph, 
radio  and  telephone  services,  agricultural  work- 
ers, shop  assistants,  and  also  the  workers  engaged 
in  supplying  food  in  the  capitals.  For  separate 
districts  where  the  peasant  home  industry  is  greatly 
developed,  and  also  in  large  towns,  where  there  is 
a  large  number  of  various  small  concerns,  such  as 
workshops,  hotels,  offices,  cafes,  restaurants,  baths, 
barber  shops,  hospitals,  drugstores,  etc.,  there  are 
special  "small-industrial"  inspectors. 


83 


X.     Staff   for   Inspection   of   Labor. 

The  staff  for  Labor  Inspection  acquires  particular 
importance  in  view  of  the  difficult  conditions  of  the 
period  of  transition  to  socialism,  and  of  the  particu- 
larly acute  economic  disorganization  and  civil  war. 
The  immediate  and  complete  realization  of  all  the 
demands  of  the  working  class  in  the  field  of  labor 
protection  is  absolutely  impossible,  and  the  most 
complex  and  responsible  task  of  adaptation  to  life 
of  the  general  demands  of  legislation,  and  the  real- 
ization of  all  that  can  be  realized,  is  demanded 
even  at  the  cost  of  the  greatest  difficulties.  The 
institution  of  labor  inspection  is  very  young.  It 
has  not  even  had  two  full  years  of  existence.  The 
political  situation  was  such  that  the  trade  unions 
had  to  give  their  best  men  to  the  war  to  protect 
the  revolution,  and  next,  to  organization  of  industry, 
establishment  of  transportation,  food  supply,  orga- 
nization of  industry,  organization  of  wage  tariff 
activity,  etc.  Yet,  in  spite  of  the  acute  shortage 
of  responsible  men,  the  working  class  proved  itself 
capable  of  providing  a  goodly  number  of  business- 
like and  intelligent  men  for  this  field  as  well.  And, 
what  is  most  important  of  all,  labor  inspection 
almost  entirely  rests  upon  the  proletariat  itself, 
which  makes  us  fully  confident  of  the  stability  and 
power  of  this  young  institution. 

According  to  statistics  for  the  month  of  April, 
1920,  there  were  elected  altogether  405  Labor 
Inspectors;  of  these,  there  were  319  district  and 

84 


86  other  inspectors.  The  latter  are  divided  as  to 
their  unions  as  follows:  Railway  Transport — 52, 
Water  Transport — 14,  Builders— 4,  Communica- 
tions— 10.  General  inspection  of  agricultural 
workers  and  shop  assistants  has  only  just  begun 
to  be  organized,  and  employs  not  more  than  6  men 
at  the  present  time.  Of  the  Labor  Inspectors,  375 
are  men  and  30  women. 

We  thus  see  that  in  labor  inspection  a  consider- 
able number  of  women  are  represented,  and  it 
might  be  mentioned  that  both  men  and  women  can 
be  equally  true  Proletarian  Labor  Inspectors  and 
that  an  individual  woman  worker  can  freely  be- 
come a  general  Labor  Inspectress.  The  following 
is  the  distribution  of  Labor  Inspectors  according 
to  trade: 

Workers   232 

Foreman  and  technicians 75 

General  clerks  60 

Medical  assistants  5 

Teachers  6 

Druggists 2 

Students 6 

Doctors 3 

Lawyers   1 

Engineers    2 

Unclassified    13 

Altogether,  including  foremen,  there  were  307 
workers,  making  75  per  cent,  60  employees  making 
15  per  cent,  and  25  intellectuals  making  6  per  cent. 
The  class  composition  of  the  Labor  Inspection  is 
obvious. 

85 


As  to  previous  education,  they  are  distributed  as 
follows: 

Higher   Education 16 

Secondary   Education 38 

Secondary  Technical   and  craft 49 

Elementary    Education 272 

Domestic    Science   Education 13 

Unclassified 17 

The  latter  category  really  overlaps  with  element- 
ary and  domestic  science  education,  in  view  of  the 
fact  that  it  consists  mainly  of  workers. 

Ages:                           Local  General     Total 

Up  to  20         years  1  —  1 

20—25           32  11  43 

25—30  "      70  18  88 

30—35           81  26  107 

35—40  "      53  14  67 

40—45  "     36  15  51 

45—50  "      20  20 

above      50                    8  8 

unknown                             18  2  20 

The  above  table  shows  the  greatest  number  of 
inspectors  is  of  the  most  mature  age  and  of  ma- 
ximum fitness, — from  25  to  35. 

Party  composition: 

Communists   183 

Sympathizers 85 

Mensheviks  15 

Left  Soc-Revolutionaries 6 

Anarchists    2 

Zionist  Socialists  1 

86 


Bund  1 

Non-Party    93 

Unknown    18 

I  assume  that  the  data  given  above  is  quite  suffi- 
cient to  enable  us  to  say  with  confidence  that  Pro- 
tection of  Labor  in  Soviet  Russia  is  in  reliable 
hands. 


87 


XI.     Special  Inspections. 

The  Labor  Inspectors  who,  as  we  have  seen,  are 
in  the  majority  of  cases  class  conscious  workers 
of  a  domestic  education  are  incapable  of 
realizing  fully  all  the  tasks  in  the  sphere  of  Labor 
Protection.  Very  often  substantial  special  know- 
ledge is  required.  For  this  reason,  to  assist  Labor 
Inspection,  the  Soviet  Government  has  secured  the 
assistance  of  the  medical  and  technical  services. 
In  August  1918  a  technical  inspection  of  engineers 
was  instituted.  In  March  1919  Sanitary  Inspec- 
tion was  introduced,  all  the  inspectors  for  which 
were  medical  men.  It  has  not  been  possible  yet 
to  put  these  two  important  institutions  firmly  on 
their  feet,  owing  to  the  fact  that  at  the  present  time 
the  country  is  passing  through  a  sharp  crisis  of 
lack  of  specialists.  There  are  hardly  enough 
engineers  to  go  round  for  the  work  of  reestablish- 
ing industry  and  transport,  whilst  the  epidemics 
make  felt  the  sharp  need  of  doctors,  in  which  Rus- 
sia was  at  all  times  poor.  At  the  present  moment 
there  are  altogether  125  medical  inspectors. 
According  to  the  general  principles  of  our  policy, 
specialists,  doctors  and  engineers  are  more  of  a 
consultative,  auxiliary  importance,  assisting  by 
their  knowledge  and  special  experience  the  Labor 
Inspector,  who  guides  all  their  work,  bearing  the 
full  responsibility  for  the  condition  of  labor  protec- 
tion in  his  district. 

The  technical   and  medical   inspectors   make  a, 


systematic  supervision  of  enterprises  for  the 
purpose  of  removing  any  defect  or  infringement  of 
laws  in  the  sphere  of  technical  safety,  sanitation 
and  industrial  hygiene.  In  addition  to  this  they 
make  an  extensive  study  of  all  harmful  trades, 
trade  diseases  and  accidents  and  investigate  methods 
of  combatting  these.  All  their  work,  similar  to 
Labor  Inspection,  is  carried  on  in  the  closest  con- 
tact with  the  trade  unions  under  the  latter's  direct 
control. 


89 


XII.     Conclusions. 

It  is  quite  obvious  that  although  our  Labor  Ins- 
pection is  composed,  chiefly  of  the  working  class, 
this  class  was  incapable  of  realizing  all  the  aspects 
of  its  activity.  A  Labor  Inspector  makes  only  peri- 
odical visits  to  an  enterprise,  gives  orders  and  direc- 
tions but  is  incapable  of  establishing  a  daily  control 
for  their  actual  execution.  In  addition  to  this, 
Labor  Protection  gives  actual  results  only  when  it 
is  carried  out  by  the  whole  working  mass  during 
its  usual  labor  processes.  For  its  maximum  suc- 
cess the  constant  utilization  is  necessary  of  that 
knowledge  of  the  peculiarities  of  every  branch  of  an 
individual  piece  of  work,  which  is  possessed  by  the 
workers  engaged  at  the  lathes  who  feel  the  necessity 
of  carrying  out  the  protection  of  Labor.  Further- 
more, it  is  necessary  to  attract  to  the  creative  active 
work  of  labor  protection  those  who  most  need  this 
protection,  the  weakest  elements  of  the  working 
class — the  women  and  the  children.  In  order  to 
achieve  these  tasks  there  are  being  established  in 
Soviet  Russia,  side  by  side  with  Labor  Inspection, 
special  organs  assisting  and  collaborating  with  the 
Inspection  in  its  complex  and  responsible  work. 
At  every  trade  union  from  top  to  bottom,  from  the 
central  committee  to  the  lowest  county  branch, 
special  departments  of  labor  protection  have  been 
established.  At  every  factory  and  works,  at  every 
enterprise  and  institution  numbering  above  15  men, 
a  commission  of  labor  protection  has  been  formed. 

90 


These  organs  vitalize  the  activity  of  the  Labor 
Inspection  by  special  knowledge  of  all  the  pecu- 
liarities and  the  demands  of  the  industry  in  ques- 
tion. They  also  see  to  it  that  all  the  instructions 
and  directions  are  not  dead  letters  but  are  actually 
carried  out  in  due  time  and  without  undue  devi- 
ations. In  the  absence  of  the  Inspector  they  carry 
on  the  constant  control  of  the  supervision  of  legis- 
lation on  Labor  Protection,  and  of  the  sanitary-hy- 
gienic state  of  enterprises,  housing,  schools,  hospi- 
tals, baths  and  so  forth.  Special  attention  is  to  be 
paid  to  attracting  into  active  work  in  Labor  pro- 
tection the  working  youth,  which  in  the  person  of 
its  Communist  League,  represents  a  leading  ele- 
ment, affording  a  great  assistance  to  all  the  organs 
of  the  Soviet  Government  by  presenting  an  example 
of  energy  and  firm  revolutionary  faith  in  the 
righteousness  of  the  workers'  cause.  In  connection 
with  all  organs  of  the  League  there  are  economic 
legal  departments  which  under  the  guidance  of  the 
Labor  Inspectors  carry  on  the  Labor  protection  of 
minors.  Moreover,  in  February  of  this  year  we 
laid  the  foundation  of  a  special  institution  of  assist- 
ant inspectors  of  labor  from  the  midst  of  the  League 
of  Labor  Youth.  The  best  representatives  of  the 
proletarian  youth,  elected  to  these  posts  by  the 
League  in  agreement  with  the  Council  of  Trade 
Unions,  are  able  to  devote  themselves  fully  to  the 
work  of  Labor  Protection.  Whilst  paying  most  at- 
tention to  the  protection  of  child  labor,  they  at  the 
same  time  assist  the  inspector  in  all  the  other  as- 
pects of  its  activity,  thanks  to  which  they  continu- 
ally gain  experience  as  fully  intelligent  and  efficient 
workers  in  labor  protection. 

Finally,  every  measure  is  being  taken  to  draw 

91 


women  workers  to  the  work  of  labor  protection. 
The  general  meetings  of  the  representatives  of 
women  workers  of  every  district  elect  special  dele- 
gates who  constantly  participate  in  the  activity  of 
the  local  sub  department  of  Labor  Protection,  visit 
the  enterprises  under  the  guidance  of  the  Labor 
Inspectors,  attend  special  lectures  and  take  part 
in  discussions  on  labor  protection  which  are  arran- 
ged by  the  Labor  Inspection,  and  also  closely  par- 
ticipate in  the  realization  of  Labor  Protection  for 
women  and  children. 

Thus,  thanks  to  persistent  and  detailed  daily  work, 
both  of  an  organizing,  agitational,  cultural  and  edu- 
cational character,  we  make  sure  that  protection 
of  labor  in  Soviet  Russia  does  actually  embrace  il- 
limitably  wide  circles  of  working  masses,  who  may 
be  said  fully  to  have  become  the  "self-protectors" 
of  the  proletariat  against  all  abnormal,  difficult  and 
harmful  conditions  with  which  the  capitalistically 
organized  public  labor  is  connected,  and  which  in- 
evitably lead  to  a  physical  and  mental  degeneration 
of  the  working  masses.  We  have  not  by  far  suc- 
ceeded in  fully  realizing  all  the  demands  of  labor 
protection.  This  is  in  the  first  place  to  be  explain- 
ed by  the  fact  that,  generally  speaking,  social 
measures  can  under  no  conditions  be  fully  realized 
on  a  large  scale  within  one  or  two  years.  In  ad- 
dition to  the  conditions  prevailing  in  all  countries, 
Russia  was  laboring  under  an  uninterrupted  three 
years'  civil  war  and  principally  under  a  brutal  and 
criminal  blockade  of  the  aggressive  Entente,  which 
prevented  among  other  things  the  full  realization 
of  protection  of  labor.  The  armed  counter-revolu- 
tion supported  by  Anglo-French  bayonets,  bullets, 
and  money,  and  at  times  even  with  human  "cannon- 

92 


fodder,"  compelled  the  Russian  workers  and  pea- 
sants to  strain  all  their  forces  for  the  defence  of 
the  Soviet  system.  At  the  same  time  the  Western 
European  capitalists,  having  economically  isolated 
Russia  from  the  whole  world,  contributed  towards 
the  extreme  economic  disorganization  and  tortured 
by  hunger  and  cold  the  children  of  the  proletariat. 
It  is  clear  enough  that  under  such  conditions 
not  all  the  aspects  of  labor  protection  could  be 
realized. 

However,  Soviet  Russia  is  slowly  but  surely  ad- 
vancing along  the  road  of  extending  and  deepen- 
ing real  social  Protection  of  Labor.  However 
difficult  the  general  position  of  the  country  is  at 
the  present  time,  the  Russian  workers  nevertheless 
lay  the  cornerstone  of  the  edifice  of  Labor  Pro- 
tection, whose  problem  it  is  to  serve  as  the  temple 
of  healthy,  beautiful  and  joyous  labor. 


93 


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